The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has revealed that out of the 1,842,464 candidates who participated in the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), a staggering 1.4 million, representing 77%, scored below 200.
In a breakdown of the UTME results provided by JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, only 8,401 candidates managed to score 300 and above, while 77,070 scored 250 and above. Additionally, 439,974 candidates achieved scores of 200 and above, leaving a significant portion of 1,402,490 candidates with scores below 200.
The release of the UTME results was announced by Oloyede at a press conference held at the board’s headquarters in Bwari, Abuja. A total of over 1.94 million candidates registered and sat for the examination across 118 towns and over 700 centres nationwide.
The examination, which commenced on April 19th and concluded on April 29th, 2024, saw a slight delay in the release of results as JAMB took extra time to meticulously scrutinize the results, ensuring credibility and integrity by addressing issues such as impersonation and malpractices.
Previous reports by SaharaReporters highlighted the challenges faced by candidates with high scores, as approximately 4,385 candidates who scored 300 and above between 2019 and 2022 failed to secure admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Out of 6.9 million candidates who sat the examination during this period, only 2.03 million were admitted into various tertiary schools.
Oloyede also introduced a new format for accepting admissions, emphasizing the importance of candidates’ registered phone numbers. Candidates are now required to send ACCEPT/REJECT to 55019/66019 or accept/reject admission offers, including program changes, through biometric verification at accredited CBT centres or any JAMB office. These measures aim to safeguard candidates’ details and uphold the integrity of the admission process. Discussions with the NCC are ongoing to explore the possibility of dedicated student SIMs with restricted services.