It is clear that over the years, a lot of Nigerians have trooped out of the country in search of education in other countries due to the failure of its educational system, they travel to countries where they think they could be considered for admission.
This article focuses on the numerous challenges of getting admission to Nigerian universities as well as the tips on how to restructure the system and make it a better one.
Millions of naira have been spent on education in other countries by Nigerians, money which would have formed part of the countries GDP thereby contributing to the backward state of its economy.
The government of the day has failed in its part, its policies, however, have in one way or the other restricted so many access to the educational system, the Joint Admission and Matriculation board through its strict admission policies have also denied much access to the system.
The findings of this article include that a lot of other factors constitute challenges to access to university education in Nigeria, some of the challenges as identified by this study include; the quota-based admission criteria, university catchment area, educationally less-developed states criteria, the federal character principle, poor funding, inadequate infrastructures such as building, educational facilities, etc., the slot system, etc.
Problems Of Getting Admission In Nigeria Universities.
The Slot System: In various universities, some privileges are given to some prominent officials which differentiate them from normal masses, such privilege involves allowing them to bring in candidates of their choice for admission. The most annoying part of it all is that sometimes the candidate might not merit the admission but will be admitted thereby denying applicants who merit the admission the position. The slot system remains the most corrupt method, candidates who have not met the admission criteria usually stand the chance of getting admitted at the expense of those who have met the criteria due to godfatherism.
Inadequate Educational facilities: Some schools with poor infrastructures and educational facilities such as lecture halls, libraries, laboratories, and other infrastructures find it hard to give a massive admission, admitting the number of candidates that will match with the available infrastructures. This makes thousands if not millions of candidates seeking admission in that particular school become stranded.
The Quota-based Admission Criteria: It has been confirmed that most times Candidates who qualify for university entry on the account of merit but are not from the state in which the university they applied for is situated, and are also not from the educationally less-developed region, may be denied admission. Everyone should be judged based on intellect. The quota system that everyone thinks will bring equality is breeding inequality and corruption. Many Candidates have been denied admission several times due to this quota system. The Nigerian quota system today has been generally accepted to be promoting educational mediocrity and even curtailing development. concerning universities, the quota system makes use of three criteria for admission,
- recruitment,
- promotion and
- appointment.
The effect of this quarter system can be harsh. Dr. Olufunmiso Olajuyibe, a senior lecturer of microbiology in one of Nigeria’s foremost private institutions, Babcock University, which is not affected by the quota system made it known to the UNIVERSITY WORLD NEWS that the system was a great disadvantage to public tertiary education in Nigeria. He further explained that the quota system as it applies to promotion, recruitment, and appointment of staff was assisting the appointment of “square pegs in round holes” and vice-versa, Herby reducing the quality of teaching and its outcomes. “it sacrifices merit and competence to accommodate the diverse ethnic, religious, majority-minority, advantaged-disadvantaged coloration. He finally said. “The problem is so important that it requires re-visiting” it is so disheartening if an unqualified candidate for a position was picked over a more qualified candidate because the government wanted to create a balance, then excellence was thrown to the dust. Similarly, trying career progression and university admission to the quota system is ludicrous. he said. It breeds mediocrity and is a grave injustice for the intellectuals in our country Nigeria. No wonder we keep moving down in the world university rating.
Under-funding: Over the world, Nigerians are generally known for their boldness and confidence, They are hardworking, intelligent, and socially apt. Recently it has been 100 percent proven that Nigerians living in the United States of America are the most educated immigrant, superseding even the host’s citizens based on the percentage of the population having a college degree. This is the same story across the globe, from Europe to North America, Asia to Australia. Nigerians have portrayed a whole lot of excellence in many fields starting from academics to other personal skills. But irrespective of the performance displayed by Nigerians at various endeavors, the country still spends a whole lot of money for postgraduate training of its academic staff abroad; something that can be avoided. statistically, Nigeria has a population of about 206 million people, which places it as the populated country in Africa and the seven most populated in the world.to crown it all, God has blessed Nigeria with huge natural and human resources that can comfortably take it out of its present condition of poverty, insecurity. I know for sure that A lot of people will mostly blame our leaders for the current bad situation in the country, corruption, and greed but believe me the problem is from the majority of the population
Tips On How To Tackle The Problems Of Getting Admission In Nigerian Universities
Based on the Motive of this article which includes problems of getting admission to Nigerian universities, it is best advised that government should supply most universities with funds so that they can be effective in their day-to-day operations. I will also advise the universities on their part to establish and equip a unit in their institution solely to generate funds internally. In addition, Various stakeholders should also be advised to give more financial support to university education. An enabling teaching-learning environment is to be encouraged and the autonomy to universities would help reduce immensely the extent of political interference in the affairs of these institutions. The injustice imposed by the quota system should be looked into and establish a good admission structure.
