The Federal Government has approved a comprehensive reform of admission entry requirements for all tertiary institutions across Nigeria to democratise access to higher education.
This was disclosed on Tuesday in a press statement signed by Boriowo Folasade, the Director, Press and Public Relations of the Federal Ministry of Education.
According to her, the new policy was initiated by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, and marks a major stride toward advancing the Renewed Hope Agenda and promoting inclusive education as a cornerstone for national development.
Under the new framework, the Federal Government aims to eliminate barriers to admission while preserving academic standards. The guidelines apply to universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and Innovation Enterprise Academies (IEAs) across the country.
In the statement, Dr. Alausa explained that the reform became necessary after years of limited access that left many qualified candidates unable to secure admission into tertiary institutions.
He noted that over two million candidates take the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) each year, yet only around 700,000 are admitted. This gap, he said, was not due to lack of ability or interest but to outdated and rigid entry requirements that must now give way to fairness and opportunity.
The Minister stated that the reform is expected to expand access to higher education and allow an additional 250,000 to 300,000 students to gain admission annually.
He emphasised that this initiative is designed to ensure that no capable young Nigerian is excluded due to obsolete admission policies.
“The time has come to open the doors wider, without compromising quality. This reform will ensure that every willing and qualified Nigerian youth has a fair chance to pursue tertiary education and fulfil their potential.
“Harmonising admission guidelines will help reduce the number of out-of-school youths, strengthen vocational and technical education, and align Nigeria’s tertiary education system with global and industry standards,” the Minister was quoted as saying.
For universities, the minimum entry requirement remains five credit passes in relevant subjects, including English Language, obtained in not more than two sittings, with Mathematics compulsory for Science, Technology, and Social Science courses.
For polytechnics (National Diploma level), a minimum of four credit passes is required in relevant subjects, including English Language for non-science courses and Mathematics for science-related programmes.
For Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes, five credit passes in relevant subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, are mandatory.
In colleges of education (NCE level), candidates must obtain at least four credit passes, with English Language mandatory for Arts and Social Science courses, and Mathematics compulsory for Science, Vocational, and Technical courses.
For Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) programmes, the minimum requirement is five credit passes, including English Language and Mathematics.
Innovation Enterprise Academies (IEAs) will now follow the same entry requirements as polytechnics for the National Diploma (ND) programme. It was noted that the National Innovation Diploma (NID) has been abolished, while the National Industrial Diploma (NID) previously issued by IEAs will be phased out and replaced with the ND to ensure uniformity, credibility, and better progression opportunities for graduates.
The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has been instructed to re-accredit all IEAs nationwide in line with the new ND standards. Any institution that fails to transition to full accreditation will be de-accredited.
