405,256 admission quotas unutilised, says JAMB

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has disclosed that tertiary institutions in the country has failed to fill 405,256 admissions quotas.

The PUNCH reported that this development is coming at a period when the country is witnessing an increase in the number of admission seekers yearly.

In 2021, the board stated that a total of 1,351,215 candidates registered for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination/Direct Entry.

According to the board, there was a huge leap in 2022 as a total of 1,837,011 candidates registered for the UTME/DE.

But the latest statistics made available on the website of the board for the 2020/2021 admissions revealed that 405,256 admission quotas were not filled by institutions.

According to JAMB, a total of 601,775 admissions quota were made available to universities; with federal universities having 259,292 quotas, state universities 221,545 and private universities 120,938.

The board, however, noted that 179,330 quotas remained unfilled.

For colleges of education, it was noted that 83,020 admission quotas were made available for federal-owned institutions, 131,880 for state-owned institutions and 20,340 for privately-owned colleges of education, making a total of 235,240 admissions quotas made available. The board, however, noted a vacancy of 187,320.

JAMB stated that a total of 35,352 quotas remained unfilled for polytechnics and monotechnics despite the 115,243 admission quotas provided.

A breakdown shows federal polytechnics/monotechnics with 51,663 admission quotas; state owned institutions with 51,620 and private polytechnics and monotechnics with 11,960 admissions quotas.

In the case of innovation enterprise institutions, the board stated that despite the 4,870 quotas provided, 3,573 vacancies remained unfilled.

In summary, the board gave the statistics of admission quota as 925,762. While a total of 551,553 admissions were granted, 405,256 admission quotas remained unfilled.

Commenting on the development, the board asked, “Why are there vacancies when some candidates are still not admitted?”

The board further attributed some causes of non-admissions to be, “wrong O’level subject combination; low Post-UTME screening score; non-acceptance of admission offer; duplication of application; absence from post UTME screening and mismatch of catchment.

Speaking in an interview with The PUNCH, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Anderson Ezeibe, said, “It is simple. In many polytechnics, admission quotas are not used up due to insufficient application figures.”

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