The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, on Sunday declared that over 6.4 million candidates were set to write this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

But of the total number of candidates writing the examination, only 5,000 might eventually gain admission into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions due to limited available spaces.

Ojerinde also admitted that this year’s admission into tertiary institutions in the country could turn out to be the most challenging as the board now has more prospective students to deal with.

The registrar, who spoke with journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State, said that the high rate of admission into the universities was now a case of “survival of the fittest,” saying that it had led to examination malpractices as candidates now cheat to get into higher institutions.

Ojerinde maintained that universities were not the only institutions where one could get the best education. He said that quality education could also be obtained in polytechnics and colleges of education, especially with the introduction of the Education Road Map by the Federal Ministry of Education.

He said that polytechnic and colleges of education did not have enough candidates and yet the universities were oversubscribed, noting that candidates now struggle to enter universities at all cost.

He observed that JAMB would continue to remain relevant as long as universities were increasing in the country, adding that it was the only body that could coordinate admissions into tertiary institutions and take care of various interests.

Ojerinde therefore advised parents to send their children and wards to polytechnics and colleges of education as the dichotomy that existed between university and polytechnics graduates had been removed.

He explained that the gap had been removed, with many polytechnics now offering degree programmes in technical education and teaching.

Ojerinde added that the Federal Government established the UTME so that students would not be restricted to universities only; and to reduce cost of examinations on the part of candidates, parents and the board.


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