Nigeria TV Info 

UTME Waiver for NCE, ND Candidates to Boost Admissions by 1.5 Million — Alausa

Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has disclosed that the Federal Government’s decision to exempt candidates seeking admission into National Certificate in Education (NCE) and some National Diploma (ND) programmes from writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will increase tertiary institution admissions by about 1.5 million.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Alausa said the policy is part of broader education reforms aimed at expanding access to higher education and reducing barriers faced by qualified candidates.

Under the new policy, candidates seeking admission into colleges of education with at least four credit passes in relevant subjects will no longer be required to sit for UTME. The exemption also applies to applicants pursuing non-technology agricultural and agriculture-related courses in polytechnics and monotechnics.

The minister explained that affected candidates must still register with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), while their credentials would undergo screening and verification through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) before admission letters are issued.

Alausa noted that previous reforms to admission requirements had already increased tertiary institution enrollment from about 770,000 students to 1.1 million within one year. According to him, the latest UTME waiver is expected to further widen access to education, especially in teacher training and agriculture, sectors the government considers critical to national development and food security.

He also revealed that the Ministry of Education is working on modernising agricultural curricula across universities, polytechnics and colleges of education to align with modern farming practices and emerging technologies.