Statistically less than 35% out of those who applied for admission were offered admission annually. Let me break it down. Between 2019 and 2022 6.9 million candidates sat for UTME, and out of them 2.03 million were admitted into various tertiary institutions, which represent 29%. In 2019 1,792,719 sat for the exam and 612,557 were admitted, which is 34%. In 2020, 1,949,983 sat for the same exam, 551,553 were admitted, which is 28%. In 2021 and 2022, the percentage was 22% and 30.9% respectively. But many candidates don’t know about this. The majority are furious when were not admitted especially to their choice of school or course.
In addition, there is also what is referred to as a quota for various tertiary institutions. This is the number of candidates allocated for all schools. The number is distributed based on the capacity and the school resources. For example, in 2021, 601,775 admissions quotas were given to universities by JAMB; with federal universities having 259,292, state universities having 221,545, and private universities having 120,938. There is a total of 222 universities in Nigeria with 60 Federal, 63 State, and 99 Private Universities. Let’s do some calculations, each federal university will have to take 4,321 students; each state university will take 3,516 students; each private university will have 1,221 students. Now, compare this with the number of candidates that apply to these schools annually.
In 2023, Lagos State University of Science of Science and Technology published their admission rate. It was noted that the school had over 13,000 applicants and only 3,300 students were admitted, which represents a 25.4% admission rate.
When the number of students outweighs the school’s capacity, it leads to overpopulation and over-stretched the available resources. In an attempt to avoid these issues, JAMB ensures the quota law is enforced.
I had an experience that I would like to share. This changed my perspective and made me see the reasons why student needs to be strategic in their choice of institution and course. A very good friend called me about someone who is seeking admission into the school where I am working. That lady scored 170 which was not bad relative to our minimum score. The official cut-off of my school was 120 that year. When I received her score, I told my friend that she would be offered admission and that she should put her mind at rest. Unknowing to me that there is something called quota for each department which must not be exceeded. Also, I don’t have an idea of the number of candidates that had more than 170 for that particular course.
The directive from the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is that no school should exceed their quota and a candidate who scores lower should not be considered first. For example, if candidate A scores 190 in UTME and B scores 170, A must be assessed first before B. It is when A fails to meet other criteria, that B will be considered. So, if you are saying “I exceed the cut-off and I wasn’t offered admission” it just means there are many others ahead of you who are more qualified. To cut the long story short, the lady was not admitted and I had to plead to my friend who I had given false hope.
Nigeria has a population size of 20,342,647 for age 15-19. And many admission seekers fall into this age bracket. Looking at this number, we can say the current number of tertiary institutions can’t accommodate this number. This implies that our tertiary institutions are being overstretched by the number of applicants they receive yearly.
My advice has always been that applicants should be strategic with their choice. Don’t go for a competitive course when you know your UTME score and O’level can’t help you.
