The National Universities Commission (NUC) said it will continue to approve more universities to be established in the country to increase access to tertiary education.
Chris Maiyaki, NUC’s acting Executive Secretary, said this during an interactive session with journalists in abuja.
He said during admission period, almost two million candidates seek admission into universities, but only between 500,000 and 700,000 students get admitted.
“We have no choice but to, as a matter of deliberate policy, undertake the massification of universities.”
“You need to see the anguish and frustration on the faces of families who are desperate to make sure that their children attend university education every admission session. It is very tough and challenging for university leaders and NUC and so we have no choice but to continue to approve the universities.” He added
“The approval for two more varsities to bring the number of universities in the country to 272 has been concluded and will be announced next week.”
He reiterated that Nigeria will continue to to widen university access by approving more universities to meet its demands and supply of quality education.
Maiyaki also noted that countries like Brazil, Indonesia, and others, with populations smaller than Nigeria’s, have more than 1,000 universities; stating that efforts were underway to revitalize the university system through transnational education by permitting foreign universities to establish operations in the country.
