No fewer than six million students were denied admission in Nigeria in the last five years, the National Universities Commission, NUC, stated.
Speaking Monday in Abuja while having in audience intelligentsia from Kogi West lobbying for upgrade of Federal College of Agriculture, Kabba, to a full-fledged university, Professor Abubakar Rasheed, Executive Secretary of NUC, explained that the number of university seekers got to the level due to acute shortage of space and capacities by the existing 161 universities in the country.
A breakdown shows that from 2013 to 2017, 1.9 million gained admission out of 7.8 million university admission seekers that sat for Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, leaving 5.9 million admission seekers in the cold.
Rasheed said: “The surest way out of this problem largely created by yearly increase in population is for government and private individuals or corporate bodies to establish more universities.
“As at today, Monday, 12-03-2018, there are 161 universities, comprising 41 federal-owned, 46 state-owned and 74 owned by private individuals or corporate bodies with attendant inadequate space, capacities and facilities for admission of up to two million admission seekers.”
He, however, assured the Okun people led by Senator Dino Melaye, APC, Kogi West, and Nigerians that the NUC was currently working with the varsities to find solutions to the problems, adding that the recommendations would be submitted soon to the various authorities, including the executive and legislature.
In his request on behalf of Okun people, Senator Melaye, who noted that Kabba as headquarters of Okun land deserved a university, said: “The College of Agriculture, Kabba, is as old as the ABU, Zaria, but it is yet to become a full-fledged university, even though it has most of the facilities required to become one.
“We need this university because it is as important to us Okun people as the breath of air, so we have come to lobby you so that you can lobby the Education Minister and President Buhari so that a university can be established in Kabba.
“A Bill seeking to establish the university in Kabba is currently in progress in the National Assembly. We appeal to you that when the Bill gets to the President and your advice is sought; give good words for us the Okun people.”
