2025 UTME Mass Failure: A Wake-Up Call to Parents, Schools, and the Nation

By FOLORUNSHO, Taiwo Victor

The 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results are not just disappointing—they are disgraceful. Out of the 1.9 million candidates who sat for the exam, over 1.5 million scored below 200. That’s more than 75% of students failing to hit the halfway mark in an exam that is supposed to be the gateway to their future. What does this say about our educational system? What does it say about us?

Which university will admit such candidates on merit? Into what courses? And how do we explain the fact that many of them are still applying for highly competitive courses like Medicine, Law, and Engineering with scores that cannot secure admission even in less competitive fields? If this is not a national red flag, then what is?

Where Does the Blame Lie?

Who do we hold responsible for this massive academic failure? The children? The parents? The schools? JAMB?

For me, it’s not one party—it’s a full-blown collaboration of failure.

Yes, the students bear responsibility. But how did we raise a generation that is more interested in TikTok dances, Instagram reels, and Snapchat filters than in textbooks and past questions? These days, some are even using their social media pages for content creation—chasing fame, followers, and fast money. And when you question their priorities, what do they say? “Did Peller go to school?” or “What’s the purpose of schooling?” Who taught them to think this way?

But before we chastise the children too harshly, let’s ask: who gave them these distractions in the first place? Who bought the smartphones? Who pays for the unlimited data subscriptions? Who turns a blind eye when they stay up all night online rather than studying? The answer is obvious: parents.

Schools or Centres of Compromise?

But the rot doesn’t stop at home. Our schools have failed, too. As someone who runs an educational consultancy, I say this with regret: many schools today are not centres of learning—they are breeding grounds for examination malpractice. Instead of training students to be confident and competent, some school proprietors openly encourage cheating. I have witnessed cases where students are told to “come with money” for WAEC or NECO. Why? To bribe invigilators so the system can be manipulated.

One school proprietor told me about a parent who opposed the signing of a WAEC conduct agreement. Why? Because his daughter wanted a smartphone “to help her write the exam.” Isn’t that shocking? What kind of future are we raising?

These students don’t stay up late to read anymore. They stay up waiting for leaked WAEC or NECO questions on Telegram and WhatsApp. And who is responsible for these leaks, if not, allegedly, some of the exam officials themselves?

Phones have now replaced candles and coffee. I remember my days as an admission seeker and undergraduate—I would stay awake through the night, studying tirelessly. But today’s students? They’re more concerned with competing over who owns the latest iPhone at tutorial centres than with preparing for their exams.

What Role Has JAMB Played?

JAMB itself is not blameless. How do we explain the technical glitches at CBT centres? How can students be given systems that go off and on during exams? How do we justify cases where students saw only 10 or 15 questions instead of the 60 questions expected in English Language?

Where is the oversight? Where is the integrity in our exam delivery process?

And let’s talk about JAMB’s centre allocations and erratic scheduling. Why send a student to write an exam in a centre two states away? Why schedule exams at awkward hours without consideration for preparation and logistics? All these factors compound the problem.

How Low Cut-Off Marks Are Enabling Mediocrity

Beyond the exams themselves, there’s a deeper issue: the lowering of university cut-off marks. What message are we sending to students when we say you can enter university with 120? Why would a student aim for excellence when mediocrity is sufficient?

Standardised and competitive admission benchmarks must be enforced across all tertiary institutions. Students should have a reason to take their studies seriously again. Raising the bar will not exclude students—it will challenge them to rise to it.

This Is Not Just a JAMB Problem—It’s a National Crisis

I spend every day advising, counselling, cautioning, and mentoring young people. I’ve seized phones. I’ve shouted. I’ve begged. I’ve tried everything to make them study. Yet many remain unserious. Some parents even threaten to arrest teachers for “harassing” their children by taking away phones. How did we get here?

This isn’t just a JAMB issue. It is a societal failure—a reflection of a broken educational culture.

So I ask again: who is to blame? The students who refuse to study? The parents who enable them? The schools that compromise integrity? Or the examination bodies that fail in their duties?

The answer is all of us.

Until we each take responsibility—parents, teachers, students, school owners, policymakers—this cycle of failure will continue. We will keep releasing depressing statistics. We will keep ruining futures.

Let’s Fix It—Together

The 2025 UTME results are not just numbers. They are a cry for help. Let us treat them as such. Let us return to discipline. Let us return to high standards. Let us fix this—together.

FOLORUNSHO, Taiwo Victor

Foremost Educational Consultant, writing from Lagos, Nigeria