From 311 to 148 - Brilliant Student’s Drastic UTME Score Decline Raises Eyebrows, Calls Mount for JAMB Investigation

 

Education stakeholders across Nigeria are grappling with a wave of disbelief following the release of a 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result that has raised more questions than answers. A widely circulated post by education advocate, Alex Onyia, brought to light the surprising academic downturn of a student previously celebrated for her outstanding performance in prior UTME attempts.

Michael Inemisit Uduak, a name now echoing across social media platforms, is at the center of this growing storm. Her newly released UTME score of 148 for 2025 has stunned observers, especially when juxtaposed against her past records. Uduak had scored 281 in the 2023 UTME and followed it with a stellar 311 in 2024 — a trajectory that suggested consistent academic excellence and a secure place among Nigeria’s elite candidates.

The 2025 UTME result tells a starkly different story. A breakdown reveals distressingly low subject scores: 35 in Use of English, 41 in Physics, 35 in Biology, and 37 in Chemistry. These figures have baffled not only her supporters but also education experts who are struggling to reconcile such a performance with her academic history.

Alex Onyia, a vocal figure in Nigeria’s education reform space, shared the result publicly on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), expressing serious doubt about its credibility. "Last two years she scored 281 in JAMB, last year she scored 311, and this year she is scoring 148. This is impossible," Onyia posted. He went on to urge the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to grant students access to their raw mark sheets, emphasizing the need for independent review and transparency in result dissemination.

What followed Onyia’s post was a flurry of reactions, ranging from outrage to confusion. Many Nigerians, including teachers, parents, and fellow students, chimed in to question the integrity of the result. Social media users flooded timelines with similar cases or fears, pointing to potential system errors, improper result compilation, or even more troubling concerns about the exam body's internal processes.

A particularly recurring theme in online discourse has been the immense pressure placed on Nigerian students to pursue prestigious and competitive courses such as medicine. Commenters highlighted how students like Uduak, despite already demonstrating academic competence, feel compelled to rewrite UTME exams in an effort to secure limited university slots. This cyclical struggle, many argue, places undue emotional and mental strain on young candidates — and now, possibly, opens the door for systemic failure.

Some critics also speculated whether technical glitches, data mishandling, or internal mishaps at JAMB could have played a role in this year's controversial outcomes. With so much riding on UTME scores — including university admission, scholarships, and career direction — a discrepancy of this magnitude is no small matter.

Questions are now being raised at a national level. How does a student go from scoring 311 to just 148 within one academic cycle? Could there have been a mix-up, or is this an isolated case of burnout or test-day issues? These are the uncertainties that demand urgent answers.

This development has reignited public discourse around the integrity and transparency of Nigeria’s higher education assessment systems. While JAMB has yet to release an official response regarding Uduak’s case or similar complaints, stakeholders are calling for more than just reassurance. They want systemic reforms — from clearer score breakdowns and accessible mark sheets to fairer admission policies that reduce the pressure to retake the exam multiple times.

For now, Uduak’s 2025 UTME result stands as a controversial data point in what many believe could be a larger issue. Whether it was an anomaly or a symptom of deeper flaws within the examination framework, the case continues to attract widespread attention and demands a thorough investigation.

As the dust settles and voices grow louder, it remains to be seen whether JAMB will heed the calls for transparency or risk further erosion of public trust in Nigeria’s tertiary education admissions process.