JAMB Initiates UTME Review to Enhance Candidate Skills

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has initiated a formal review of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to integrate life skills, critical thinking, analytical ability, and verbal and logical reasoning into the assessment. This decision is motivated by the need for the UTME to go beyond merely repeating subjects covered at the O-Level stage by WAEC and NECO.

JAMB expressed concerns that the current exam format may not accurately predict candidates' success in tertiary education. To facilitate this review, JAMB has established a committee tasked with determining whether the new competencies should be treated as separate components or integrated into existing subjects on the UTME.

The committee is also expected to propose additional measures to enhance the fairness and transparency of the examination. It has four weeks to submit its initial recommendations to JAMB.

The review follows scrutiny of the UTME after the controversial 2025 results, where many candidates scored below 200.