Peter Obi Faults Nigeria’s Education System As Over 1.5 Million Candidates ‘Fails’ 2025 UTME

Former Governor of Anambra State and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has voiced significant concern regarding the recently published results of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), characterising the outcomes as a disheartening indication of Nigeria’s deteriorating education system.

Naijaonpoint reports that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) officially released a comprehensive statistical report of the 2025 UTME results on Monday, revealing that more than 1.5 million candidates scored below the 200-mark threshold widely used by Nigerian universities for admission consideration.

According to the breakdown of the 1,955,069 results processed and released on Monday, only 420,415 candidates scored above 200.

Even more striking, only 12,414 candidates—or just 0.63%—achieved a score of 300 and above, placing them in the high-performance bracket.

Out of this top-tier group, just 4,756 candidates scored 320 and above, while another 7,658 candidates earned scores between 300 and 319.

The statement from JAMB also highlighted the performance of underage candidates permitted to take the exam under special consideration.

“40,247 underage candidates were permitted to demonstrate their exceptional abilities.

“However, only 467 of these candidates (1.16%) achieved scores that meet the threshold for exceptional ability as defined for the UTME, with their performance in the subsequent three stages still pending,” JAMB noted.

Reacting, via a statement posted on his official 𝕏 page, Peter Obi condemned the situation, attributing it to ‘the repercussions of years of insufficient investment in education.’

The politician underscored that the unsatisfactory results reveal profound structural issues within Nigeria’s educational framework.

He said: “The latest JAMB results once again highlight the consequences of decades of underinvestment in education, a sector that should be central to our national development strategy.”

In comparing Nigeria to other nations, Obi highlighted that the country’s total university enrollment is around 2 million students, a number significantly lower than that of other developing countries.

He emphasised that the National University of Bangladesh alone boasts over 3.4 million students, despite Bangladesh having only about 75% of Nigeria’s population.

Furthermore, he noted that Bangladesh, which previously trailed Nigeria in nearly all development metrics, now excels in all major development areas and in the Human Development Index (HDI).

Obi also mentioned Turkey, which has a population of approximately 87.7 million and currently has over 7 million university students, more than three times Nigeria’s total enrollment.

He reiterated his long-held belief that education should not merely be regarded as a social service, but rather 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.

“We must now invest aggressively in education at all levels if we are serious about building a prosperous, secure, and equitable Nigeria,” he stated.