UTME waiver not enough to boost enrolment for agriculture, teacher education —Experts

By Olakunle Olafioye

The Nigerian government’s desire to boost enrolment in the nation’s colleges of education and agriculture-related courses has never been in doubt. The drive received an additional push last week with the government announcing the exclusion of candidates seeking admission into the nation’s colleges of education for National Certificate in Education (NCE) programmes and non-engineering-related agriculture courses.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, who made the disclosure during the 2026 Policy Meeting on Admission into Tertiary Institutions in Abuja last Monday, revealed that the policy was part of ongoing reforms designed to increase access to tertiary education, particularly in teacher education and agriculture-related courses. He explained that candidates with four credit passes in relevant subjects would now be allowed to apply to colleges of education without sitting for the examination. He, however, revealed that such candidates would be required to register with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for the screening of their credentials, verification and certification for admission letters through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) in line with existing regulations.

The minister later gave further insight into the policy while appearing on a television programme, on Tuesday, where he defended the policy. The minister maintained that the new policy shift was part of reforms designed to remove barriers preventing qualified Nigerians from accessing tertiary education while also increasing enrolment in critical sectors such as teacher education and agriculture.

He recalled that a similar policy introduced last year has started yielding results. “Just last year, we had a requirement: to go to university or college of education, you must have five credits,” the minister had begun, continuing, he said, “That must include English and Mathematics. And we said, if you are going to study law, why do you need a credit in Mathematics? If you are going to study science, why do you need a credit in English? We abolished that.”

He disclosed that the policy review within one year had already increased admission into tertiary institutions significantly, saying, “For the number of students, there are always between 2.1 and 2.2 million people doing UTME year over year, and about 770,000 people will be admitted, leaving a huge gap. “ So, what happened to 1.2 million people? That gets carried over to the following year.

“But for the first time in the history of our country, last year, with the changes we made to the previously restrictive ordinary level requirement, we increased the number of people from 770,000 to 1.1 million students. We added almost 400,000 more students,” he said, expressing optimism that the latest UTME exemptions for NCE and ND intakes will further expand access to higher education across the country.

Over the years, successive government administrations have come up with policy reforms to stimulate the interest of the Nigerian youth in both professions. Last year, the government came up with the Dual Mandate policy, which empowers Federal Colleges of Education (FCOEs) to run a five-year integrated programme where students earn the NCE (three years) and a Bachelor of Education degree (additional two years) within the same institution. The policy aims to make teaching more attractive and remove the need for university affiliation, with about 28 federal colleges already implementing it.

Similarly, in order to boost the interest of the Nigerian youths in embracing agriculture, successive governments have come up with several institutional and policy efforts, including the establishment of specialised universities with a major focus on agriculture-related courses to boost research, extension, and training. Notable among these specialised universities of agriculture are the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB); Federal University of Agriculture, Zuru, Kebbi State; Federal University of Agriculture, Mubi, Adamawa State; and Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike.

But while the government is optimistic that the new policy will boost enrolment for agriculture and teacher education in the best interest of the country, stakeholders in the nation’s education sector and other Nigerians are concerned that granting a UTME waiver to candidates seeking admission for NCE and non-technology agriculture-related courses might be counterproductive and not produce the expected results in the long run.

The president of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Titus Amba, called for caution in the implementation of the policy, saying the move could weaken the quality of teachers’ training and undermine professionalism in the teaching profession. Amba, while speaking at the 21st Century Teachers Workshop in collaboration with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) in Abuja on Tuesday, May 12, said removing the UTME requirement might send wrong signals about the seriousness attached to producing qualified teachers. According to him, “When you announce that you’ve given a waiver to students going to colleges of education, it gives the man walking on the street a different thinking about the seriousness that is attached to producing credible teachers.

“We felt a bit worried because policies affecting institutions that produce teachers for future generations must be carefully considered.

“Today, we are in a situation where people who have graduated from university without any idea of the teaching profession go out there because of a lack of jobs.

“They go there and pick teaching jobs. Teaching jobs shouldn’t be seen like that. Teaching jobs should go beyond that.

“When admission into colleges of education is granted without standard entry evaluation, the public may begin to question the credibility of teachers being produced,” he said. 

An educationist, DrGloria Eguaroje, said lack of employment opportunity for NCE holders is another major area where the government must beam its searchlight in finding a lasting solution to the poor and steady drop in enrolment in colleges of education. According to Eguaroje, lowering the standard for admission into colleges of education for the NCE programme is a further dent in the programme.

“What the government is saying is that in about four to five years now anyone who comes to seek teaching employment in my school, for instance, will be first assessed as someone who is driven to embrace the NCE programme because he or she lacked what it takes to compete for admission to study other courses. 

“Already, the UTME score required for admission into colleges of education has been lowered to a ridiculous level. As of today, anyone who scores at least 100 out of 400 marks in UTME stands a chance of securing admission into a college of education. Obtaining 100 out of 400 marks is on its own a disappointing performance. So, while lowering the benchmark further to ground zero? The government should allow our children to choose education out of passion, not because they are not academically sound to thrive in highly competitive fields. 

One of the major problems NCE holders face in Nigeria today is lack of employment opportunities. Most schools in most parts of the country no longer reckon with NCE holders. Everybody wants degree holders or at least HND or, in the worst-case scenario, ND holders because we continue to undermine NCE by the way we keep lowering entry requirements into our colleges of education. The government should look into a policy that will mandate schools across the country to have a certain percentage of NCE holders on their payroll. Where every school is mandated to have, let’s say, 20 per cent of its teaching staff as NCE holders, more employment opportunities can be created for NCE holders, and more people will be attracted to teaching,” she said.

A farmer, Mr. Kehinde Oladele, is of the view that the lack of motivation and disincentive against agriculture as a means of livelihood in Nigeria is more than the basic academic requirements for seeking admission into tertiary institutions. According to him, the government needs to address the fundamental issues working against agriculture. He maintained that lack of access to land for farming topped the list of disincentives.

Oladele, who is a graduate of agriculture, said many graduates who major in courses like crop production do not have access to land to practise what they studied in school. “I studied crop production, but I am majorly into poultry farming because of lack of access to land for crop farming, not because I do not want to go into it but because there is no land to practise. The land tenure system in Nigeria, predominantly characterised by customary inheritance and communal ownership, poses a significant impediment against agriculture because it hampers large-scale farming, discourages long-term investment due to tenure insecurity, and restricts access to credit for farmers,” he said.

Oladele, though admitting that lowering the prerequisites for admission into higher institutions for those interested in pursuing agriculture courses could significantly improve enrolment, maintained that the prospect of building a career in the field will continue to remain abysmally low unless the government addresses the fundamental issues inhibiting agriculture in the country.

As a matter of fact, there is a need for the government to properly address the fragmented and traditional land ownership system, which makes it difficult to acquire large land areas for farming. The government must also look into financing and the problem farmers encounter in accessing credit facilities. Smallholder farmers in Nigeria still struggle to access bank loans to expand operations or purchase equipment.

“More importantly, the government must find a lasting solution to widespread insecurity, particularly in agricultural hubs, which prevents farmers from accessing their land, leading to reduced planting and abandonment of farms. There is also the issue of the high cost of modern inputs such as fertilizers, high-yield seeds, and machinery, which continues to inhibit productivity. Is it not worrisome to know that many farmers in Nigeria still rely on traditional, low-yield methods? There is no way we can attract the attention of the youths in agriculture if we still rely on the same farming methods used by our forefathers centuries ago,” he submitted.