The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has revealed that only 467 out of more than 40,000 underage candidates who took part in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scored high enough to be considered exceptionally gifted. This represents just 1.16 percent of the total underage participants. The data emerged from a pool of 1,955,069 processed results, according to an update shared by JAMB through its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, @JAMBHQ, on Monday.
JAMB noted that while these underage candidates were given the opportunity to showcase their academic strengths, their full evaluation is still ongoing. The board stated that their performance in the remaining three stages of the assessment is yet to be concluded.
In the same announcement, JAMB raised concerns about various issues encountered during this year’s UTME. It reported that 97 candidates were involved in examination infractions, and 2,157 others are under investigation for suspected malpractice. Additionally, 71,701 candidates were recorded as absent from the examination, although the board did not provide specific reasons for their nonappearance.
The board also acknowledged persistent challenges with biometric verification. Candidates who experienced these issues are currently under review, and those who are cleared will be rescheduled to take the exam at designated centres.
Some results, including those of blind candidates and others grouped under the JEOG category, are still being processed. To provide clarity on all these matters and share further developments, JAMB announced that a press conference will be held soon. During the briefing, more detailed updates will be provided, and portals for checking individual results will be activated.
