The Federal Government on
Saturday said of the 1,735,720
students that registered for this
year’s Unified Tertiary
Matriculation Examination, only
520,000 will gain admission.
Addressing journalists at the
Federal Government College,
Suleja, Niger State, after
monitoring the examination,
Minister of Education, Prof.
Ruqayyatu Rufai, blamed this on
the low-carrying capacity of the
tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
She said, “The major challenge is
a country like Nigeria having 1.7
million sitting for examination.
The space we have is 520,000
for federal, states, private
universities, polytechnics and
colleges of education.
“If one million passed, what are
we going to do with the rest
500,000? We will not expand the
carrying capacity without
expanding the facilities.
“What are we going to do with
the large number of students
out there? I feel the pain. Mr.
President is very much
concerned. If you have students
that have passed examination
and they cannot have access,
you can imagine their thought in
the long run.”
Rufai called on private firms and
individuals to invest in tertiary
education.
Responding to a question on the
high fees charged by private
universities, she said the legal
department was looking into the
ministry’s right to challenge the
fees.
Although she agreed that
private investors had the right
to recoup their money, the
minister said government would
consider legal options to
regulate the situation.
The minister also denied
knowledge of any White Paper
recommending the scrapping of
the UTME and the National
Examination Council.
She said, “It has become a very
controversial issue. I have made
a statement before the National
Assembly that the Federal
Government has a white paper
on this. I’m not aware that NECO
and JAMB will be scrapped. If we
are not aware, what are we
going to make an analysis out
of? Government has not taken
decision on that.”
Rufai further blamed improper
shading of answer sheets by
candidates for non-release of
their results.
“If they don’t shade their papers
correctly, they may not have
results,” she added.
Meanwhile, the Joint Admissions
and Matriculation Board has
arrested a middle-aged man who
was identified as Isaac, for
alleged impersonation at one of
the Dual Based Test centres in
Abuja.
The JAMB Registrar/Chief
Executive. Prof. Dibu Ojerinde,
said the registration number on
his slip and answer sheet did not
tally.
“The owner of the slip is from
Enugu. He came here to
impersonate another person. He
had been handed over to civil
defence who will hand him over
to the police,” he said.
Meanwhile, no fewer than nine
candidates were feared dead,
while six were injured in an auto
crash on the Aba-Port Harcourt
Expressway on Friday.
The victims were said to be on
their way to their examinations
centre.
Police Public Relations Officer,
Abia State Command, Mr.
Geoffrey Ogbonna, confirmed the
incident in an interview with the
News Agency of Nigeria in
Aba.
He said seven persons including
the driver died instantly, while
two others died later in hospital.
Ogbonna said the candidates
were travelling on a Hiace bus
with number plate Rivers XY 249.
He explained that the driver,
around 10.40am rammed into a
truck with number plate Lagos
XC 109 SLK, which was parked
off the road at Obeaku-Ihie,
Ugwunagbor Local Government
Area of Abia State.

The last time I checked Nigeria has
129 universities,44 polytechnics and
37 colleges of education,altogether
210 higher institutions having a
carrying capacity of 520,000 students
(according to the minister).
Suppose the number of higher
institutions is doubled,we would have
have 420 institutions with carrying
capacity of at least
2*520,000=1,040,000 which is still less
than the number that sat for UTME
this year. How long will it take Nigeria
to have at least 420 higher
institutions?5,10,20 or 40 years?It
took us 66years (from 1947 when
Yabatech was founded) to have
210 .Don't forget the number of
candidates eligible to write the exam
increase yearly.Are prospective
candidates not in trouble?Clearly
more candidates will continue to sit at
home while very few are admitted.
Many have argued that if a candidate
pass well then he would be offered
admission,my question has always
been do u have to pass well to be
offered admission.Are higher
institutions for brilliant students only?
If you say they are,why then do we
have 3rd class,pass and fail grades in
our higher institutions?
The problem we have with higher
institutions admission is that the the
number of students applying to these
school s is far more than their
carrying capacities,the problem is
absolutely not JAMB as a lot of
candidates have ignorantly said.
Clearly more of our students would
continue to travel to Ghana,S/
Africa,Gambia,Lebanon,Malaysia and
even Iran to seek admission

iwanchop: The last time I checked Nigeria has
129 universities,44 polytechnics and
37 colleges of education,altogether
210 higher institutions having a
carrying capacity of 520,000 students
(according to the minister).
Suppose the number of higher
institutions is doubled,we would have
have 420 institutions with carrying
capacity of at least
2*520,000=1,040,000 which is still less
than the number that sat for UTME
this year. How long will it take Nigeria
to have at least 420 higher
institutions?5,10,20 or 40 years?It
took us 66years (from 1947 when
Yabatech was founded) to have
210 .Don't forget the number of
candidates eligible to write the exam
increase yearly.Are prospective
candidates not in trouble?Clearly
more candidates will continue to sit at
home while very few are admitted.
Many have argued that if a candidate
pass well then he would be offered
admission,my question has always
been do u have to pass well to be
offered admission.Are higher
institutions for brilliant students only?
If you say they are,why then do we
have 3rd class,pass and fail grades in
our higher institutions?
The problem we have with higher
institutions admission is that the the
number of students applying to these
school s is far more than their
carrying capacities,the problem is
absolutely not JAMB as a lot of
candidates have ignorantly said.
Clearly more of our students would
continue to travel to Ghana,S/
Africa,Gambia,Lebanon,Malaysia and
even Iran to seek admission

My Brother am not suprise if Nigerian students will seek admission even in Benin and Niger Republic.Just listen to our minister stated clearlly that more than 1 m studens seeking admission will not be admitted even if they passed so jamb may even purposely fail more candidates. What are we talking about even the little one that will be admitted majority of them will be receiving their lectures through the lecture room windows. For the minister to come out and said there nothing the Government can do than that the mr president is concerned she will have to resign her appoitment because she has nothing to offer the country.

iwanchop: The last time I checked Nigeria has
129 universities,44 polytechnics and
37 colleges of education,altogether
210 higher institutions having a
carrying capacity of 520,000 students
(according to the minister).
Suppose the number of higher
institutions is doubled,we would have
have 420 institutions with carrying
capacity of at least
2*520,000=1,040,000 which is still less
than the number that sat for UTME
this year. How long will it take Nigeria
to have at least 420 higher
institutions?5,10,20 or 40 years?It
took us 66years (from 1947 when
Yabatech was founded) to have
210 .Don't forget the number of
candidates eligible to write the exam
increase yearly.Are prospective
candidates not in trouble?Clearly
more candidates will continue to sit at
home while very few are admitted.
Many have argued that if a candidate
pass well then he would be offered
admission,my question has always
been do u have to pass well to be
offered admission.Are higher
institutions for brilliant students only?
If you say they are,why then do we
have 3rd class,pass and fail grades in
our higher institutions?
The problem we have with higher
institutions admission is that the the
number of students applying to these
school s is far more than their
carrying capacities,the problem is
absolutely not JAMB as a lot of
candidates have ignorantly said.
Clearly more of our students would
continue to travel to Ghana,S/
Africa,Gambia,Lebanon,Malaysia and
even Iran to seek admission

My Brother am not suprise if Nigerian students will seek admission even in Benin and Niger Republic.Just listen to our minister stated clearlly that more than 1 m studens seeking admission will not be admitted even if they passed so jamb may even purposely fail more candidates. What are we talking about even the little one that will be admitted majority of them will be receiving their lectures through the lecture room windows. For the minister to come out and said there nothing the Government can do than that the mr president is concerned she will have to resign her appoitment because she has nothing to offer the country.

iwanchop: The last time I checked Nigeria has
129 universities,44 polytechnics and
37 colleges of education,altogether
210 higher institutions having a
carrying capacity of 520,000 students
(according to the minister).
Suppose the number of higher
institutions is doubled,we would have
have 420 institutions with carrying
capacity of at least
2*520,000=1,040,000 which is still less
than the number that sat for UTME
this year. How long will it take Nigeria
to have at least 420 higher
institutions?5,10,20 or 40 years?It
took us 66years (from 1947 when
Yabatech was founded) to have
210 .Don't forget the number of
candidates eligible to write the exam
increase yearly.Are prospective
candidates not in trouble?Clearly
more candidates will continue to sit at
home while very few are admitted.
Many have argued that if a candidate
pass well then he would be offered
admission,my question has always
been do u have to pass well to be
offered admission.Are higher
institutions for brilliant students only?
If you say they are,why then do we
have 3rd class,pass and fail grades in
our higher institutions?
The problem we have with higher
institutions admission is that the the
number of students applying to these
school s is far more than their
carrying capacities,the problem is
absolutely not JAMB as a lot of
candidates have ignorantly said.
Clearly more of our students would
continue to travel to Ghana,S/
Africa,Gambia,Lebanon,Malaysia and
even Iran to seek admission

My Brother am not suprise if Nigerian students will seek admission even in Benin and Niger Republic.Just listen to our minister stated clearlly that more than 1 m studens seeking admission will not be admitted even if they passed so jamb may even purposely fail more candidates. What are we talking about even the little one that will be admitted majority of them will be receiving their lectures through the lecture room windows. For the minister to come out and said there nothing the Government can do than that the mr president is concerned she will have to resign her appoitment because she has nothing to offer the country.