Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, Mr Peter Obi, has decried the poor results recorded by candidates in the 2025 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) UTM Examination.
The former governor of Anambra State, made his feelings known in his official X-handle on Tuesday following the release of the results by JAMB.
He said: “I just came across the official results from JAMB showing the recent exam figures.
“According to the data shared, a total of 1,955,069 candidates sat for the exam.
“Shockingly, out of this number, only about 420,000 candidates scored above 200, while over 1.5 million scored below 200.
“This means that over 78 per cent of the total candidates failed to meet the 200-mark threshold — a reflection of the deep-rooted challenges in our educational system.”
Speaking further, Obi pointed out that the latest JAMB results had: “Once again highlight the consequences of decades of underinvestment in education, a sector that should be central to our national development strategy.”
He observed that, Nigeria’s total university enrollment currently stands at approximately Two million students.
“By comparison, the National University of Bangladesh — a single university — has over 3.4 million students enrolled, despite the country having only about 75 per cent of Nigeria’s population.
“One university in Bangladesh surpasses the entire university enrollment in Nigeria,” he said.
He added that, Bangladesh, which once lagged behind Nigeria in virtually every measurable development index, now surpasses the country in all key areas of development and in the Human Development Index (HDI).
Similarly, he said that,Turkey, with a population of about 87.7 million people, had over Seven million university students — more than three times Nigeria’s total university enrollment.
“I have consistently said it: education is not just a social service; it is a strategic investment.
“It 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,” Obi said.
