ABSTRACT
THE STUDY INVESTIGATED THE BARRIERS OF
ADMISSION TO UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA A CASE STUDY OF Lagos state
university. A structured open ended interview questionnaire was used for the
study. The sample comprised of 50 respondents who were 20 applicants of
university admission, 20 individuals from different the FESTAC community and 10
university lecturers from LASU Raji Rasaki campus, who represented
administrators. Six (6) research questions were formulated to guide the study.
Four were to be answered with the questionnaire structured whilst two research
question answered from secondary data. Percentages were used to analyse the
data collected in sectional A of the questionnaire while section B of the
questionnaire was analyzed qualitatively.
The results revealed that limited
access to university education had implications on the generality of the
society which included the applicants, the parents and the society.
It was equally found that policies put
in place such as the NUC Carrying capacity for universities, JAMB Quota, Post
UME and the Catchment Area rule had to be reviewed and reformed in order to
increase access to university education. Based on the findings, it was
recommended among others, that government funding was a major factor in
increasing access to the universities. JAMB examinations should be effective
and credible so that there can be a high standard in the educational system. Also,
gender equality in admission into universities should be encouraged and the
catchment Area rule should be reviewed to accommodate students from other
regions if there is space in such departments. Also, government should make it a matter
of urgency to accommodate all courses by expanding university facilities
and establishment of new universities. If all these are put in place, it is
believed that the access into the universities would increase.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Title page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Abstract vi
Table of content vii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Introduction And Background Of The Study 1
Statement Of The Problem 3
Purpose Of The Study 5
Research Questions 6
Research Hypothesis 6
Significance Of The Study 7
Limitation Of The Study 7
Scope Of The Study 8
Operational Definition Of Terms 8
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction 9
History Of University Admission In Nigerian Universities 10
Body Established For University Admission 11
Causes Of Admission Problems Into Nigerian Universities 12
Impact Of Admission Problems 32
Recommended Solutions To Admission Problems Into Nigerian
Universities 35
CHAPTER THREE:RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURES.
Research
Design 41
Population Of The Study 41
Sampling And Sampling Procedure 41
Research Instrument 42
Validity Of The Instrument 42
Method Of Data Collection 42
Data Analysis 42
CHAPTER FOUR:DATA PRESENTATION ,ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS.
Data Presentation and
Analysis 43
Answering Research Questions 46
Discussion of Findings 48
CHAPTER FIVE:SUMMARY,
RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION
Summary of
results(Findings) 61
Conclusions 65
Suggestions for further
Research 67
References
Appendix
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
With
100 recognized universities across the country, comprising 27 federally owned,
34 states controlled and 39 privately established, millions of Nigerian youths
who are desirous of university education are finding it extremely difficult to
access higher education. Some, who have tried unsuccessfully, times without
number, are becoming frustrated and about to give up.
Of course, the number of available
universities in Nigeria could be said to be inadequate compared to the
preponderance of eligible candidates seeking admission, thus creating the first
problem: access. Other problems confronting an average university admission
seeker include cost and quality. Where the problem of access is overcome, a
successful candidate who gained admission into any university is confronted with
the Siamese problems of cost and quality.
A deeper analysis of this scenario will
no doubt reveal that, of the three categories of university in Nigeria, only
the children of the rich could easily go to private and probably state
universities where the access is relatively much easier and the cost higher.
Consequently, the institution yearly has between 60,000 to 65,000 subscriptions
when the actual carrying capacity is just 5,000 or less (Daily Champion,
January 19, 2010).
According to Plant (1990), without
intervention programmes, the number of those affected by this problem may rise
rapidly. Strategies to reduce these problems primarily focus on the use of
Criteria that are well spelt out so that each candidate can easily know if
he or she is qualified or not. Some of the criteria include;
·
Access rates
·
Definition of Catchment areas
·
Examinations conduct
·
Available spaces in universities
·
Over-population of applicants into university in some areas like Lagos state.
After
a candidate has been screened using the above criteria then, the first short listing which is
purely on merit would be considered. Candidates are invited for oral interviews where only the best and the
well-prepared can scale through the academic standards set by various departments. To say the
fact, a combination of SSCE result and JAMB result is a formidable weapon.
Then we can truly say that any student
that fails at this stage of interactive session has failed because not even the
Vice-Chancellor can save him or her. The
admission process when critically examined is indeed a respite for many
Nigerian youths because you need not know anybody before you are admitted. It
should be so transparent that many candidates who never expected to be admitted
because they had no god-father could rejoice for gaining admission to the
university.
Thus, Nigeria as a country needs to work
hard to create enabling environment for everyone to thrive. The present
situation in which a candidate seeks for admission into university without hope of
succeess is unpalatable. Many have been frustrated in their search
for university and are eventually left to seek for admission abroad if they
will be able to finance the high cost. (Source: Daily Champion, By Sunday Saanu, January – 19 –
2010).
Statement of the Problem
The
number of available universities in Nigeria could be said to be inadequate
compared to the preponderance of eligible candidates seeking admission yearly.
Many are frustrated when they could not gain access to the university. Some
students have opted out of the university when they could not cope with the
cost leading to a waste of educational resources which in itself is scarce.
Out
of the 1,493,000 candidates that sat for the JAMB examination in 2010/2011, a
total of 2,892 candidates scored 300 and above, while 842,941 candidates scored
below 200 marks. The Registrar and Chief Executive of JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde
said that Other figures showed that a
total of 7,504 results were withheld and are still under investigation by the
examination body. About 15,160 cases of various forms of examination
malpractices were also recorded. The statistics showed that candidates from Imo
State topped list of applicants with 113,543, representing 7.60 per cent,
followed by Delta with a total of 93,971 candidates representing 6.29 per cent.
In contrast, the Federal Capital Territory recorded the lowest number with
3,093 candidates, representing 0.21 per cent, while Zamfara had 5,253
candidates, representing 0.35 per cent of the total applicants.
As
for the highest number of applicants, the University of Lagos received 99,195
applicants, but can only admit 9,507 candidates. The Ahmadu Bello University,
Zaria and University of Nigeria, Nsukka, had 89,760 and 88, 177 applicants
respectively.
The
Registrar and Chief Executive of JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, noted that while
the UTME was created out of the need to expand access, candidates continued to
have higher preference for universities ahead of other tertiary institutions and unfortunately, the
universities still contend with the constraints of carrying capacities,
This study
particularly addresses the University education policy which is a higher level
education that seeks to advance a higher form of knowledge that could make
rapid developmental strategy possible in Nigeria. It basically criticizes the problems
caused by some of theses rules.
Purpose of Study
The
main aim of this study was to:
1.
To find out the ratios between applications and admission to
Nigerian universities over the period 2010 to 2011.
2.
To find out if government funding of Nigerian universities
is a barrier to access to university education.
3.
To find out if the implications of Limited access to
universities on the applicants, parents and society.
4.
To determine the competence of Jamb examination and
procedures in ensuring more access to the universities.
5.
To find out if the catchment area rule aids access and
equity into Nigerian universities.
6.
To find out if there are gender imbalances in admission into
Nigerian universities.
Research Questions
The
researcher provided answers to the following research questions:
i. What are the ratios between applications and
admissions over the period 2000 to 2010?
ii. Is Government funding a barrier to
access to university education?
iii. Are there implications of limited
access to universities on the applicants, the parents and the society?
iv. Is JAMB’s examinations and procedures
competent in ensuring more access to universities?
v. Does the catchment area rule aid access
and equity to university education?
vi. Are there gender imbalances in admission
into Nigerian universities?
Scope of the Study
This
study was limited to the following;
Lagos State university lecturers of Raji Rasaki Campus.
A
self structured open ended interview questionnaire.
FESTAC
community members comprising of parents, undergraduates, graduates, market
women etc.
Significance of the Study
The
findings of this study will help provide information to both the government and
seekers of admission into higher institution and reduce the rate of admission
problems in these institutions. It would also serve as an eye-opener to
providing an intervention institutional admission mechanism to address
incompetence and variations in higher institutions admission processes. It may
also provide clues to the areas in which private institution might be faulty
and need some adjustment.
Limitation to the Study
i)
It is envisaged that there might be reluctance by the
respondents to research instruments. However, the persuasion method will be
used.
ii)
Also, there might be difficulty in retrieving the
questionnaire on-the-spot administering of the instrument will therefore be
adopted.
iii)
To overcome the problem of ambiguity in the questionnaire,
statements would be made easy.
iv)
The interview questioning would be an open ended question
style.
Operational Definition of Terms
·
Admission: accepting into an institution
· Mechanisms: method or a system for achieving
something
·
Undergraduate: university or college student who is
studying for their first degree
·
Institution: a large important organization that
has a particular purpose such as Lagos state University.
·
ICT: Information and Communication
Technology
·
Open University: an institution where learners study
at their own pace, time and choosing their own method.
·
Administration: The people, who plan, organize and
run an institution.
· Bottleneck: anything that slows down development
or progress, particularly in an organization
· Access: the right or opportunity to use or
benefit from something irrespective of individual differences
·
ODL: an acronym for
Open Distance Learning.
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