Despite scoring 300 and above in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), no fewer than 5,000 candidates failed to secure admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions between 2019 and 2024, data from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has revealed.
Over the five academic sessions under review, 8.5 million candidates sat for the UTME, but only 2.7 million were admitted. This leaves about 5.8 million stranded, with thousands of high-performing candidates among them.
Reasons for Admission Denials
JAMB identified several factors contributing to this troubling trend, including:
Wrong O’level subject combinations
Low post-UTME scores
Non-acceptance of admission offers
Duplication of applications
Absence from post-UTME screenings
Catchment area mismatches
These reasons underscore systemic gaps in Nigeria’s admission process, despite high scores being traditionally seen as a guarantee for entry into university.
Breakdown of Admission Trends by Year:
2019/2020: 1.79M sat; 612,557 admitted; 1.18M stranded
2020/2021: 1.95M sat; 551,553 admitted; 1.39M stranded
2021/2022: 1.4M sat; 312,666 admitted; 1.08M stranded
2022/2023: 1.8M sat; 557,625 admitted; 1.24M stranded
2023/2024: 1.63M sat; 639,263 admitted; ~1M stranded
Calls for Reform
Education stakeholders are now urging JAMB to extend the validity of UTME results beyond one year — similar to WAEC and NECO — so that candidates don’t have to retake the exam annually.
Ayodamola Oluwatoyin, Programme Director of Reform Education Nigeria, said:
“JAMB should extend the validity of its results. The current model burdens families, especially amid the tough economy.”
FG Defends CBT Amid 2025 Exam Glitches
Despite recent technical hitches in the 2025 UTME, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has reaffirmed the federal government’s trust in JAMB’s Computer-Based Testing (CBT) system.
He blamed the glitches on a service provider error that affected the display of shuffled questions in some centres, particularly in Lagos and southeastern states.
“It was not a failure of the CBT system itself. JAMB acted swiftly and transparently to correct it,” Alausa said.
JAMB Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede has since apologized and confirmed that 379,997 candidates affected by the glitch will resit the exam starting May 16, 2025.
As frustrations mount among students and parents, the pressure is building for a holistic review of Nigeria’s tertiary admission system — to ensure that merit, not technicalities, determines access to higher education.
