Nigeria's Education System Criticized by Peter Obi as Over 1.5 Million UTME Candidates Fail Exam in 2025

Get a load of this - the education system in Nigeria is in a bit of a pickle, as evidenced by the abysmal results from the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). And none other than Peter Obi, the ex-governor of Anambra State and the 2023 presidential contender for the Labour Party, isn't mincing his words as he slams the dismal performance.

Our site reports that JAMB, the joint admissions and matriculation board, dished out some pretty shocking stats on the 2025 UTME results a few days ago. Here's the lowdown: out of the 1,955,069 results processed and dropped, only 420,415 candidates managed to score above 200 - a measly 21.61% of the total. And if you thought that was bad, consider this - only 12,414 candidates, that's merely 0.63% of the total, bagged a score of 300 and higher, placing them in the high-performance bracket.

Things got even worse for the top-tier students. Out of this privileged bunch, only 4,756 candidates scored an impressive 320 or above, with another 7,658 candidates recording scores between 300 and 319.

To add insult to injury, JAMB also threw some attention towards underage candidates who were allowed to take the test under exceptional circumstances. "40,247 underage candidates were given the chance to showcase their talents," JAMB said. "Nonetheless, only 467 of these bright young minds (1.16%) achieved scores that met the threshold for exceptional ability, as defined by the UTME, with their results in the ensuing stages yet to be determined."

Reacting to this doozy of a situation, Peter Obi couldn't keep his mouth shut. He bashed the entire mess, attributing it to the consequences of years of woeful investment in education. "The latest UTME results once again demonstrate the repercussions of decades of underinvestment in a sector that should be central to our national development strategy," he declared.

Just for kicks, let's compare Nigeria to some other developing countries. The grand total of university enrollment in Nigeria comes out to around 2 million students. That's peanuts compared to the National University of Bangladesh, which accommodates a whopping 3.4 million students, despite Bangladesh boasting only about 75% of Nigeria's population. What's more, Bangladesh, which used to lag behind Nigeria in nearly all development metrics, now leaves Nigeria in the dust in all major development sectors and the Human Development Index (HDI). Even Turkey, with its population of approximately 87.7 million, boasts a total university enrollment of over 7 million students - more than triple Nigeria's total.

Peter Obi believes that education should be viewed not just as a social service, but as a vital strategic investment. "Education is the most critical driver of national development and the most powerful tool for lifting people out of poverty," he said. "We must now invest aggressively in education at all levels if we are serious about building a prosperous, secure, and equitable Nigeria."

Nigeria's Education System Criticized by Peter Obi as Over 1.5 Million UTME Candidates Fail Exam in 2025