The Regalo Hope Foundation (RHF), a non-profit organisation, has attributed the poor performance of candidates in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to inadequate digital literacy.
Dr Chinenye Onuorah, founder of RHF, shared this view during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday.
Recall that more than 1.5 million out of 1.9 million candidates for the UTME organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) scored below 200.
A breakdown of the results released by JAMB showed that 983,187 candidates (50.29 per cent) scored between 160 and 199, while 488,197 candidates (24.97 per cent) scored between 120 and 139.
Onuorah, expressing dissatisfaction with the performance, emphasised the urgent need to properly expose students to digital literacy tools.
She stated that the report revealed not just a failure of preparation but also a failure of responsibility. She added that it highlighted what happens when young people are left to figure out digital literacy independently, without the necessary tools, exposure, or training to succeed.
She called for public-private collaborations to empower students with digital literacy, thereby improving their performance.
The RHF founder emphasised the importance of creating an environment that enables students to prepare for such an examination and increase their chances of success.
“We need to stop talking about the youth and start building with them,” she added.
