Over A Million Will Be Denied Admission In Nigeria This Year

 

The federal government has stated that over 1 million candidates that sat for the University  Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) on Saturday, may not gain admission into the nation's tertiary institutions due to inadequate capacity.

The Minister of Education, Professor (Mrs) Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufai, made this known at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday while invigilating the UTME, that the current capacity of tertiary institution across the country is only about 500,000.

This she notes can not cater for 1.7 million candidates sitting for the UTME.

Professor Rufai who bemoaned the gross inadeuate number of universities in the country appealed for more public private partnership for the establishment of more institutions to increase access to university education in Nigeria.

She made the plea noting that the growing number of students who enroll for admission into tertiary institution annually is alarming as revealed by the number of students sitting for this year's UTME.

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) announced that over 1.7 million candidates registered for the UTME , an increased of 13.35% compared to previous years.

According to the Minister, there is space for only one-third of these applicants and the remaining candidates, who may attain the cutoff grade may even not get admitted.