Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, has claimed that the high percentage of failures in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) is a result of the government’s anti-malpractice initiatives, which are having an impact, particularly in the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board system.
According to reports, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) formally published a thorough statistical report of the 2025 UTME results on Monday. It showed that over 1.5 million applicants received scores below the 200-mark cutoff point, which is frequently used by Nigerian universities to determine admission.
Only 420,415 candidates received scores higher than 200, according to the breakdown of the 1,955,069 results that were processed and made public on Monday.
Alausa stated during Tuesday’s appearance on Channels Television’s Morning Brief that the performance dip is a result of JAMB’s stricter security measures, which have led to a notable decrease in exam misconduct.
That is a serious worry, he said, and it reflects how well exams are administered. JAMB uses a computer-based testing method to administer its exam. Because of the robust security measures they have put in place, fraud and cheating have been totally eradicated. Regretfully, we are unable to say the same about WAEC and NECO.
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The National Examinations Council and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) will start using computer-based exams by November 2025, beginning with objective examinations, according to Alausa’s announcement.
Exam malpractice, in his opinion, discourages hardworking students, and the ministry is still dedicated to utilizing technologically advanced methods to rebuild the legitimacy of Nigeria’s admissions and assessment procedures.
The full CBT paradigm, including essay portions, would be implemented by the May/June 2026 exam cycle, he continued.
“To combat this fraud, technology is essential. That there are so many “miracle centers” is just intolerable. After cheating on the WAEC and NECO exams, some attempt to cheat on the JAMB, which is almost impossible. The discrepancy we are currently witnessing is that. It is depressing.
The most detrimental aspect of cheating is that it deters those who put in the most effort. Do you think I will still put in a lot of study time if I know some of my classmates already have access to the questions for WAEC or NECO? I’ll be tempted to join them, but no. Good students get corrupted in this way, and we need to stop it.
