On Tuesday, some parents in Lagos expressed disappointment and concerns over the low performance of candidates in the recently concluded 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

The parents said the poor performance could be attributed to several issues.

The UTME, organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, released a comprehensive statistical breakdown of the 2025 results on Monday.

According to the board’s official figures, a total of 1,955,069 candidates sat for the UTME, with performance across scores ranging as follows: 320 and above (4,756 or 0.24 per cent), 300–319 (7,658 or 0.39 per cent).

Others are 300 and above (12,414 or 0.63 per cent); 250–299 (73,441 or 3.76 per cent), 200–249 (334,560 or 17.11 per cent).

The candidates who scored 160–199 are 983,187 or 50.29 per cent; 140–159 (488,197 or 24.97 per cent); 120–139 (57,419 or 2.94 per cent), 100–119 (3,820 or 0.20 per cent), while those who scored below 100 are 2,031 or 0.10 per cent.

A parent, Oluwaseun Oluwajuwon, attributed the poor performance to a lack of reading culture amongst the candidates.

“Students’ participation in academic matters is very low, with many preferring social media and other distractions over reading and learning.

“We parents need to really pay attention to our kids. We need to make sure they follow moral standards and ensure they study hard,” Mr Oluwajuwon, a cybersecurity expert, said.

Another parent, Saidat Oduwole, a pharmacist, said the quality of education contributed to the low performance of candidates.

Ms Oduwole stated that the quality of education had been dropping due to the current economic situation, making it difficult for students to access textbooks and other educational resources.

To Ifunanya Bello, a businesswoman, the low performance of the candidates may not be connected with unqualified teachers.

“A significant number of teachers in Nigeria’s education system are not qualified to teach. Schools need to employ qualified teachers to enable these children have a sound education that they deserve to merit any position they find themselves in life,” she said.

An educationist, Adetoro Bello, attributed the low performance to media influence.

Another parent, Olufisayo Anthony, called on the management of JAMB to improve its performance, while attributing the poor performance of the candidates to technical issues.

Mr Anthony said some candidates had complained about the technical glitch they experienced while writing the exam.

“This might have affected their performance. JAMB needs to improve on their performance and ensure that these technical glitches become a thing of the past,” he said.

Stephen Olatunbosun, a fashion designer, implicated negligence on the part of the candidates for the poor performance.

Mr Olatunbosun said many candidates did not take their studies seriously, with some even intentionally seeking to fail to pursue education abroad or in private universities.

He also added that some students preferred social media and other distractions over reading and learning, saying participation in academic matters was low.

(NAN)