The Congress of University Academics has raised concern over the recently released 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination results, describing them as evidence of the deteriorating state of Nigeria’s education system.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, CONUA President Dr Niyi Sunmonu said the poor results reflect a “deep-rooted crisis” in the education sector that requires urgent and comprehensive reform.
Earlier, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board announced that out of over 1.96 million candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), over 1.5 million scored below 200 out of a total of 400 marks.
Sunmonu blamed the mass failure on systemic issues, including ineffective curriculum delivery, low teaching standards, poor infrastructure, and students’ limited exposure to computer-based testing.
He warned that the trend could force universities to lower academic standards due to a shrinking pool of qualified candidates.
He also stressed that students from underprivileged regions are disproportionately affected, further widening educational inequality and posing a long-term threat to Nigeria’s human capital development.
Sunmonu urged the Federal Ministry of Education, state governments, and regulatory agencies to urgently revamp the national curriculum to better reflect modern 21st-century skills.
He also called for massive investment in teacher training, stricter accountability measures, and improved access to learning materials and infrastructure across all regions.
Additionally, he advocated for strengthening remedial education programmes such as pre-degree and JUPEB, which support underprepared but promising students. Sunmonu further recommended greater autonomy for universities in admissions, allowing them to design flexible pathways for capable students who may not meet traditional cut-off marks. “While this year’s UTME results are worrying, they also serve as an opportunity to realign our priorities and reinforce our collective commitment to rebuilding Nigeria’s education system from the foundation,” he said
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