Peter Obi, former Anambra State governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, has strongly criticised the alarming outcomes of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), describing them as a glaring reflection of Nigeria’s deteriorating education system.
In a statement shared on his verified social media handle, Obi expressed concern that only about 420,000 of the 1,955,069 candidates who sat for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) exam scored above 200. This implies that over 78% of the candidates failed to meet the benchmark, a situation Obi described as “a sign of a deeply broken educational structure.”
Obi attributed the mass failure to prolonged government neglect and underfunding of the education sector, lamenting that the system is no longer producing the quality outcomes needed for national progress. He stressed that meaningful national development must begin with urgent reforms in education, noting that education should no longer be seen merely as a social service but as a foundational driver of economic and societal transformation.
Making a comparative analysis with other nations, Obi pointed out that Bangladesh—with a smaller population—has over 3.4 million students enrolled at its National University, while Turkey, with a population of about 87.7 million, has more than 7 million university students. In contrast, Nigeria’s current enrolment figures are significantly lower despite having a larger youth population.
He called for massive, targeted investments in the educational sector, saying it is the only way to lift millions out of poverty and secure a more stable and prosperous future for Nigeria. “We must treat education as a cornerstone of development,” Obi declared, urging stakeholders and policymakers to take immediate action to rescue the system from collapse.
