About 550,000 students have been admitted into Nigerian universities as of August, for this admission cycle. Ten universities will welcome 20% of them which means the other close to 200 universities will pick the balance 80%. UNILORIN, UNIBEN, UNIMAID, UNICAL and NAU lead the numbers. Notice that ABU Zaria, UNN, UI, and OAU are not in the top 10; interesting dynamics.
Yet, looking at these numbers which have not changed for years, you will see the challenge in the nation. A nation of 210 million sending just 550k students to universities.
The United States is just about 1.6 times the population of Nigeria; US population is about 330 million. The Arizona State University admits about 125k students, more than the combined total of Nigeria’s top ten: “ASU’s enrollment increased 7% compared to last year and will welcome approximately 125,000 students to the University community, a Thursday press release said. “
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Sure, it goes beyond quantity to quality! Yet, the number needs to move.
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