The Federal Government has said its decision to exempt some candidates from sitting the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) could increase admissions into tertiary institutions by about 1.5 million.
Minister of Education Tunji Alausa disclosed this during an appearance on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired on Tuesday.
The minister recently announced that candidates seeking admission into colleges of education would no longer be required to sit for the UTME before gaining admission.
Under the new arrangement, applicants with four credit passes in relevant subjects can apply directly to colleges of education. However, they must still register with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), while their credentials will pass through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) for verification and approval.
Alausa said the reform is intended to widen access to tertiary education and reduce barriers that prevent many qualified Nigerians from securing admission.
“Let’s give these kids opportunity by removing the restriction,” the minister said.
He also recalled that the government had earlier reviewed admission requirements linked to ordinary level results.
“Just last year, we had a requirement: to go to university or college of education, you must have five credits,” the minister said.
“That must include English and mathematics. And we said, if you are going to study law, why do you need a credit in mathematics? If you are going to study science, why do you need a credit in English? We abolished that.”
According to him, the revised policy now allows candidates seeking admission into law, arts and social science courses to present a credit pass in English language only, while applicants for science and engineering programmes are required to have a credit pass in mathematics.
The minister noted that the policy adjustment had already led to a sharp increase in admissions within one year.
“For the number of students, there are always between 2.1 and 2.2 million people doing UTME year over year, and about 770,000 people will be admitted, leaving a huge gap,” the minister said.
“So, what happened to 1.2 million people? That gets carried over to the following year.
“But for the first time in the history of our country, last year, with the changes we made to the previously restrictive ordinary level requirement, we increased the number of people from 770,000 to 1.1 million students. We added almost 400,000 more students.”
Alausa said the latest exemptions would further boost access to higher education, especially in teacher training and agricultural studies.
“This year alone, with the changes we are making, eliminating UTME requirement for colleges of education and UTME requirement for non-technology agricultural and agricultural-related courses in polytechnics and monotechnics, it will increase the number of people being admitted to our tertiary institutions by almost 1.5 million,” he said.
He added that the government’s reforms are focused on removing obstacles that hinder qualified students from entering tertiary institutions while strengthening enrolment in key sectors such as education and agriculture.
