No fewer than 20 federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education admitted fewer than 1,000 students each during the 2024/2025 academic session, according to data from the Federal Ministry of Education.
The ministry’s report, obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), revealed that despite millions of candidates sitting annually for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), many new and specialised institutions continued to struggle with low enrolment.
The affected institutions include Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education (942 students); Federal University of Agriculture, Mubi (184); Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo (568); and Federal University of Technology, Ikot Abasi (942).
Others are Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny (704); Federal Polytechnic, Wannune (956); Federal Polytechnic, Ukana (455); Federal Polytechnic, Ohodo (65); Federal Polytechnic, N’yak Shendam (89); and Federal Polytechnic, Mongunu (350).
Also on the list are Federal Polytechnic, Kabo (713); Federal Polytechnic, Isuochi (118); Federal College of Education, Ilawe (397); Federal College of Education (Technical), Ekiadolor (290); Federal College of Education (Technical), ISU (38); Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze (416); Federal College of Education, Gidan-Madi (481); Federal College of Education, Iwo (592); Federal College of Education, Odugbo (317); and Federal College of Education, Asaba (276).
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, had in March expressed concern over the proliferation of higher institutions despite the low student population in some existing ones.
“We have universities with less than 1,000 undergraduate students, and there is still intense demand for more universities to be opened. We have to stop that,” he said.
Nigeria currently has 278 universities — 64 federal, 67 state, and 147 private — in addition to numerous polytechnics and colleges of education.
To address the imbalance, the Federal Government announced in July that tertiary institutions with fewer than 1,000 enrolled students would stop receiving allocations from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) starting from 2026.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, who disclosed this at the 2025 Policy Meeting on Admissions in Abuja, said the decision was aimed at ensuring efficient resource utilisation.
She noted that it was unfair for institutions with very low enrolment to receive the same level of TETFund support as those with larger student populations.
Meanwhile, data from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) show that over six million candidates who sat for UTME in the last five years failed to gain admission into tertiary institutions.
Out of the 8.9 million candidates who took the examination between 2020 and 2024, only about 2.7 million were admitted.
JAMB attributed the low admission rate to several factors, including wrong O’Level subject combinations, poor post-UTME scores, non-acceptance of admission offers, duplication of applications, and absence from post-UTME screenings.
An education analyst, Ayodamola Oluwatoyin, told NAN that students and parents often preferred established universities over newly created ones.
“Most candidates prefer older institutions like the University of Ibadan or Ahmadu Bello University to new universities that are still developing. They care about reputation and not just access,” she said.
The government has since suspended the registration of new private universities as part of efforts to consolidate existing ones and improve quality and enrolment levels across the system.
