Volume 4 Issue 3 (October 2012) - Ozean Publications

European Journal of Educational Studies 4(3), 2012
2010). The Federal government has been playing the role of a major stakeholder in university education in
Nigeria since independence. However, given the large population of Nigerians, rising demand for university
education by plethora of applicants, as well as indiscriminate complaint from the general public, scholars and
students over the plight of duly qualified candidates left without admission, it is obvious that the Federal
Government alone cannot adequately meet the challenges. In other words, government needs to liaise and
cooperate with other bodies and non-governmental organizations in providing quality university education to
Nigerians. The approval for the establishment of state-owned and private universities was encouraged by the
desire to overcome the problem of admission crisis and compliment government efforts in meeting the
challenges. With the establishment of new universities in Nigeria, it was expected that the problem of admission
would be addressed, yet, the problem still persists (Ayorinde and Williams, 2010). Furthermore, it must be
highlighted that the newly established universities are in fact perceived as complementary rather than being
competitors in developing socially-relevant academic programmes vital for competitiveness in an increasing
globalizing knowledge society (Albert in Okojie, 2010). In view of the developmental implications of a
knowledge-based economy; that is, an economy based directly on the production of knowledge and information,
as well as applicants’ demand to study those labour–demand education or discipline, restructuring academic
programmes is very important for promoting national globalization trend.
Although the number of existing universities in Nigeria has increased tremendously within a period of 50 years
of independence, from less than five to more than one hundred universities, enrolment is very low, as many
qualified candidates are left each year without admission. For instance, out of the 1,046,950 candidates who
applied in 2003/04, only 105,157 were admitted leaving 941,793 stranded. Also, in 2007/08, out of 1,054,082
candidates, only 129,054 succeeded in getting admission, leaving 925,028 without admission. One major
reason which accounts for these trends in massive application and admission crisis as indicated by scholars such
as Jibril (2005); Okebukola (2002); and Okojie (2010) is the static available space in universities, coupled with
the deficiency of the existing universities to accommodate the ever increasing number of applicants. This neodimensional
trend has precipitated the emerging problem of admission crisis or accessibility crisis in Nigeria.
Having a university education in another country is becoming an important alternative for the students who is not
able to get admission or who is not satisfied with the quality of the universities in Nigeria. Table 1 shows the
number and percentage of admissions with respect to applications to university matriculation exams (UME),
according to the statistics of Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Table 1: Number of Applicants and Admission into Nigerian Universities between 2005 and 2009.
YEAR
UME
APPLICATION
ADMISSION
% ADMISSION LEFT OVER % LEFT
OVER
2005 916371 65620 7.16 850751 92.84
2006 803472 88600 11.03 714872 88.97
2007 911653 118811 13.03 792842 86.97
2008 1054082 129054 12.24 925028 87.76
2009 1184651 143299 12.10 1041352 87.90
Source: JAMB
Given the large population of Nigerians, the increasing demand of university education, the demand of labour
market as well as the gross inability of the existing universities to absorb all qualified applicants, it became
obvious that private interventions by other stakeholders were needed to rescue the Federal Government by the
establishment of more universities. Government therefore found it difficult to further justify the exclusion of the
involvement of the state government and private sector from university education (Jibril, 2005). However, the
establishment of new universities by state governments and private sectors does not seem to ameliorate the trend
in admission crisis. Those who uphold this view opine that courses offered in new universities reflect either a
commercial consideration or religious orientation. They offer courses that require less investment in terms of
infrastructure and other resources. This is in contrast with the large number of state and private-owned
universities in other countries (Oloyede and Adekola in Okojie, 2010). Similarly, newly established universities
in Nigeria are heavily criticized for their inability to provide academic programmes that can satisfy applicants’
aspirations, curtail admission crises and complement government (Federal) effort in making university education
accessible. It is in view of these criticism and other stated problems that this study which is focused on the trend
in students’ aspiration was conceived and motivated. The very low admission rate compared to application
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