The weight of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results recently released by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) must have impacted on every right-thinking Nigerian by now. The results show that out of the 1,955,069 applicants who took the examination only 420,415 candidates received scores higher than 200. By implication, more than 1.5 million did not meet the threshold. Out of the lot, less than 1% of the candidates scored higher than 300 on the test, while 75% of the candidates scored lower than 200, according to the data. The analysis is disturbing.
It is, therefore, not surprising that many interpretations have been given to the poor outing. The minister for education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, explained the high failure rate as clear evidence of government’s anti-malpractice measures yielding results, especially within the JAMB system. Alausa made the assertion on appearance on Channels Television. “That’s a big concern, and it’s a reflection of exams being done the proper way. JAMB conducts its exam using a computer-based testing system. They’ve implemented strong security measures, and as a result, fraud or cheating has been completely eliminated. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for WAEC and NECO”, he said.
Former Anambra State governor and 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, took the argument deeper with seeing in the poor results a reflection of Nigeria’s deteriorating education system. I will travel with the former governor. The low results go beyond the casual explanation of JAMB getting its act correctly in examination management. It is rather a manifestation of the rot in the system. Incidental and yearly examinations as the UTME cannot provide a convincing assessment on the extent of anti-cheating measures in our public examinations. We may not bother with probing if the key characteristics of a good evaluation instrument, such as validity, reliability, objectivity, adequacy, discrimination power, practicability, comparability, utility and comprehensiveness were observed by the examination body. But if we go by the below-200-marks performance by most of the candidates this year, the validity principle, which refers to a test accurately measuring what it is intended to measure, is lacking. You cannot expect a 16-year-old chap travelling from a far distance to be in his examination centre for a 6.30 AM test to perform wonders at the end of the day. A teacher that records 75 percent failure rate is as guilty as his students. That is a story for another day and can be debatable.
But what is not in doubt is that the 2025 UTME results have shown that one cannot sow bad seeds and hope for better harvests. Ours is a system where we do the same thing constantly and expect different results. But because we have always gambled with our crass inadequacies and managed to carry on, it is taken to be the norm. However, the chickens, as they say, have come home to roost.
The outcome of the UTME mirrors our systemic failure, commencing from the family level. For many parents, it has become a status symbol to literally push their kids to schools at a time they do not know why they are there. Some even throw the kids into boarding facilities at infancy stage, hoping that the poorly paid teachers will nurture them to excellence. This non-consideration of the emotional readiness of the students will always manifest as they grow, not minding their attending the so-called Ivy League institutions.
For those in public schools, the inadequacies of their non-exposure to relevant teaching and learning aids will only manifest with time. Some of the candidates confronted with the computer-based tests (CBT) in the UTME were not used to the technology. Many were from the villages and rural areas without access to electricity and internet facilities. To worsen matters, some, if not most, of their teachers are not information and communication technology-compliant. How they can be expected to impart what they do not have, becomes the issue. The mistake the Nigerian authorities make is in seeing the country from the narrow prisms of Abuja-Lagos-Kano-Port Harcourt and other capital cities, not realizing that a huge class of silent Nigerians exists in the remote areas.
In some instances, the schools do not have equipped and functional libraries, laboratories and workshops. In my secondary school days at Bishop Shanahan College (BSC), Orlu, Imo State, in the early 1980s, there were conscious arrangements for conducive learning environments for students in grammar, commercial and technical sections. Those of us in grammar had good teachers, well-equipped libraries with regular supply of newspapers and journals. Commercial-oriented students had their typing pool and relevant materials. For those in technical/vocational section, the workshop and necessary tools were available. It was not surprising that among the products of the school became teachers, journalists, lawyers, doctors, scientists, architects, engineers and captains of industry. I doubt if any of the schools outside a few federal government-owned colleges can boost of such environments.
The poor UTME results this year, should not be surprising. Contrary to the asserting by education minister that it is a proof of the effectiveness of the anti-cheating measures by JAMB, it is rather a reflection of our failure as a nation and an indication of the dangers ahead. Tackling the falling standard of education in the country, is a matter that requires concerted action from relevant stakeholders, not a dismissive approach, as the minister appeared to have intended. There is no how Nigeria’s education sector can perform magic with the current scant attention from leaders, office holders, top civil servants, sending their children abroad for learning, while neglecting the system at home.
The term education which originates from the Latin word “educare”, is a purposeful activity aimed at achieving goals like the transmission of knowledge, skills, and character traits. Education socializes children into society by instilling cultural values and norms, equipping them with the skills necessary to become productive members of society. In doing so, it stimulates economic growth and raises awareness of local and global problems.
Education is for total development of the recipients. Any nation that neglects the education of its youths, pays dearly for it. When therefore we talk about the rising incidences of crime among the youths, insurgency, terrorism and sundry social vices bedeviling the system, they boil down to our years of neglecting the education sector. Getting out of the menace requires a comprehensive audit of the mess, telling ourselves the truth and working for a realistic solution. That should be the major lesson of the poor 2025 UTME results.