The results of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) have left many Nigerians worried. With over 1.5 million out of 1.9 million candidates scoring below 200, the poor performance cannot be dismissed as a simple coincidence. While it is easy to blame JAMB or cite technical glitches, we need to look beyond the surface. The real crisis lies deeper within our homes, classrooms, and educational priorities.
One major reason for the mass failure is the declining reading culture among students. In today’s digital age, many young people no longer value serious study. Social media, short video apps, and online distractions have taken over their time and attention. A large number of students now depend on “expo” or leaked questions and don’t bother to read and understand what they’re being taught. Even during school hours, many are glued to their phones instead of focusing on their studies. When an exam like the UTME then demands genuine reasoning, comprehension, and recall, they are unable to perform because the shortcuts they rely on fail them.
Another big issue is the quality of teachers in our schools. These days, teaching has become a profession of last resort. Many people who would have been excellent teachers are moving into better-paying or more respected professions. Meanwhile, the colleges of education that train teachers admit candidates with some of the lowest UTME scores. If someone who scores 120 in UTME is trained to become a teacher, how much quality can we expect in the classroom? We must face the truth: a poorly trained teacher will produce poorly taught students. This is a key reason many candidates are not equipped to pass the UTME, which still expects a certain standard of knowledge.
Moreover, the learning environment in many public schools is not encouraging. Overcrowded classrooms, poor infrastructure, lack of learning materials, and the absence of a proper feedback system make it hard for any meaningful teaching and learning to take place. How can students be expected to pass when they learn under trees, share a few textbooks among dozens of students, or are taught by unmotivated teachers who haven’t been paid for months, or are poorly paid?
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Another overlooked factor is parental attitude. Many parents today hardly supervise their children’s education. Some see education as the sole responsibility of teachers and schools. Others are too busy or simply uninterested. A child who lacks support at home, who is not encouraged to study, who has no proper place to do homework, and who is given a phone without limits will most likely struggle academically. This failure is not just that of the school system but of society as a whole.
We must also consider the role of the government and policymakers. Education has never been truly prioritized in Nigeria. Year after year, we complain about mass failure, but little is done to reform the curriculum, invest in teacher training, or provide resources for both students and schools. We treat the symptoms but ignore the disease. Until education receives serious political attention, we may continue to see this cycle of failure.
The 2025 UTME results should be a wake-up call, not just for JAMB but for every stakeholder in the Nigerian education system. Blaming technical issues will only distract us from the hard truth. Our students are not learning because they are not being taught well, they are not studying hard, and they are not being raised in a system that values true learning. If we don’t fix the roots, we cannot expect fruit.
