The Congress of University Academics (CONUA) has raised concern over the recently released 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results, describing it as a reflection of the worsening state of education system.
The President of CONUA, Niyi Sunmonu, in a statement released to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday said the results exposed a “deep-rooted crisis” in the sector.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) revealed that out of over 1.96 million candidates who sat for the UTME, only 0.79 per cent (12,414 candidates) scored 300 and above.
According to JAMB, around 21per cent (334,560 candidates) scored between 200 and 249; a staggering 74 per cent (over 1.5 million candidates) scored below 200, and over 26 per cent failed to score up to 140.
Sunmonu identified shortcomings in curriculum delivery, quality of teaching, infrastructure, and student familiarity with computer-based testing as major contributors to the poor performance.
“The limited number of high performers and the overwhelming concentration of candidates in the lower score brackets indicate widespread systemic failures.“
With the development, universities may struggle to maintain academic standards with fewer qualified entrants.
“Students from underserved regions, already at a disadvantage, face even steeper barriers to access tertiary education.
“Most critically, the country risks further depletion of its human capital base,” he said.
Sunmonu called on education stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Education, state governments, and regulatory agencies to urgently revamp the curriculum to reflect 21st-century competencies.
He added that investment in comprehensive teacher training and accountability mechanisms, improved access to learning resources and infrastructure in all regions will help the sector.
He advocated for the strengthening of remedial education programmes like pre-degree and JUPEB to support underprepared but capable students.
Sunmonu also called for increased autonomy in university admissions, allowing institutions to design flexible interventions for students with potential who may not have met traditional cut-off marks.
“While this year’s UTME results are worrying, they also serve as an opportunity to realign our priorities and reinforce our collective commitment to rebuilding Nigeria’s education system from the foundation,” he said
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