The Federal Government has said the new policy removing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) requirements for candidates seeking admission into colleges of education and some national diploma agriculture programmes will raise tertiary institution admissions by about 1.5 million.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, made this known while speaking on a television programme on Tuesday.
He explained that the decision was taken to give more Nigerians easier access to higher education and reduce admission conditions that stop many qualified students from entering school.
The minister had earlier announced during the 2026 admission policy meeting that candidates applying to colleges of education would no longer need to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
According to him, applicants with four credit passes in relevant subjects can now apply directly for admission.
He added that such candidates would still register with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, while their results and credentials would go through screening and verification on the Central Admissions Processing System before admission letters are issued.
Alausa said the government had also reviewed some old admission rules linked to ordinary level results. He explained that before now, candidates needed five credits including English Language and Mathematics before they could gain admission into universities or colleges of education.
He said the government decided to change the policy after discovering that some requirements were unnecessary for certain courses. Under the new arrangement, students applying for courses like Law, Arts and Social Sciences only need a credit pass in English Language, while those seeking admission into Science and Engineering courses only need a credit pass in Mathematics.
The minister said the earlier changes already increased admission numbers across the country. According to him, between 2.1 million and 2.2 million candidates usually sit for UTME every year, but only around 770,000 secure admission, leaving many students without placement.
He revealed that after the government reviewed the old admission rules, the number of admitted students rose from about 770,000 to 1.1 million within one year. He said nearly 400,000 more students gained admission because of the policy change.
Alausa said the latest removal of UTME requirements for colleges of education and some agriculture-related ND programmes would further increase access to tertiary education.
He noted that the government expects the policy to create room for almost 1.5 million more admissions into tertiary institutions nationwide.
The minister also stated that the reforms are meant to remove barriers affecting qualified candidates while helping to increase enrolment in important sectors such as teacher training and agriculture.