Nigerian Universities And Their Catchment Areas

One of the steps a smart student takes is to know the catchment areas of the school he wants to choose when filling JAMB form online. It is important to bear in mind that catchment areas are majorly used in Federal Universities.

The policy was introduced in order not to localize federal tertiary institutions and to unite the nation. You must bear in mind that admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria is defined in three areas:

1. Merit

Candidates admitted on merit are the set of people that meet all the requirements of the school i.e. UTME score, Post UTME score, and O’level requirement. However, the policy is that only 45% of them must be given admission.

2. Catchment Area

These are states that are geographically connected to the University. It is a way of recognizing the indigenes of the school and that of the neighboring states. 35% goes to this set of candidates.

3. Educationally Less Developed States (ELDS)

20% of the admission quota goes to ELDS. These are states that are less developed educationally. These states include Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Zamfara, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe.

The purpose of these three areas is to have universality, give everyone an opportunity to be educated, and as well have a sense of belonging.

A candidate must understand that he/she must be aware of the three “admission areas” before choosing a course of study in any university in Nigeria. This means if I miss an opportunity to gain admission through merit, I must maximize the catchment or ELDS opportunity. I termed these as “three big admission success tools”

Note: This doesn’t mean a candidate won’t meet up with the minimum requirements of the school. What this does is to increase your chances of gaining admission having met with the school cut-off mark.

For instance, if the UI cut-off mark for medicine is 250 and they want to admit 100 candidates, it is possible to see 300 students who applied for a score of 250 and above. And it is impossible to admit all the 300 candidates. In this kind of situation, your saving grace to gain admission might be catchment areas or ELDS.

Below is the list of catchment areas of Nigerian universities:

1. Ahmadu Bello University (ABU): Kaduna, Kogi, Kano, Kastina, Niger, Kwara, Benue, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Plateau, Jigawa, Borno, Zamfara, Yobe, Taraba, Gombe, FCT, Kebbi, Sokota
2. University of Lagos (UNILAG): Ogun, Lagos, Osun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti
3. University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN): Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi
4. Bayero University Kano (BUK): Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kastina, Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto
5. University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID): Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi, Taraba
6. Nnamdi Azikwe University (UNIZIK): Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi
7. University of Calabar (UNICAL): Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, Edo
8. University of Jos (UNIJOS): Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Niger
9. University of Ilorin (UNILORIN): Kwara, Benue, Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau
10. University of Port-Harcourt (UNIPORT): Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Edo, Cross River
11. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU): Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba
12. University of Ibadan (UI): Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Lagos
13. University of Abuja (UNIABUJA): All the states and FCT
14. Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA): Ondo, Ekiti, Lagos, Osun, Oyo
15. Federal University of Technology Minna (FUTMINNA): Niger, Benue, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Plateau, Sokoto, Zamfara
16. Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO): Imo, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu
17. Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola (MAUTECH): Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe
18. Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU): Osun, Ekiti, Lagos, Oyo, Ondo
19. Usman Danfodio University (UDUSOK): Sokoto, Jigawa, Kwara, Kebbi, Katsina, Kano, Kano, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Niger, Zamfara
20. University of Benin (UNIBEN): Edo, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross-River, Delta, Rivers
21. Kwara, Benue, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Plateau, Sokoto, Zamfara
22. University of Uyo (UNIUYO): Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross-River, Delta, Edo, Rivers

I hope this article has provided you with the information you need about the catchment states of your preferred institution. If you have any related questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment.