Expert Raises Concerns Over FG’s UTME Exemption for NCE Candidates

 

An education advocate, Femi Aderibigbe, has expressed reservations over the Federal Government’s decision to exempt candidates seeking admission into the National Certificate in Education (NCE) and certain National Diploma programmes from the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), warning that the policy may not sufficiently address Nigeria’s teacher shortage.

Aderibigbe, former Advocacy Manager for the Malala Fund in Nigeria and Board Chair of the ImpactHouse Centre for Development Communication, made this known in a statement issued to journalists on Thursday in Kaduna.

He acknowledged that Nigeria’s teacher deficit is a pressing challenge but argued that the new policy focuses more on easing entry into teacher training institutions rather than resolving the structural issues affecting the education sector.

According to him, persistent concerns such as poor remuneration, delayed salary payments, overcrowded classrooms, and limited professional development opportunities continue to discourage qualified individuals from pursuing teaching careers.

“The teacher shortage that Nigeria’s Ministry of Education is attempting to solve is real, but the solution announced may not effectively address the root causes,” he said.

The Federal Government of Nigeria had announced that applicants for NCE programmes and National Diploma courses in non-technology agriculture would no longer be required to sit for UTME, provided they possess at least four credit passes in O’Level examinations. The reform is intended to ease administrative pressure on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which handled over 2.2 million candidates in the 2026 UTME cycle.

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) oversees the conduct of the UTME for tertiary admissions nationwide.

Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said the policy aims to streamline the admissions process and reduce operational strain on the examination body.

However, Aderibigbe cautioned that removing the UTME requirement alone may not significantly improve teacher availability in schools unless state governments increase recruitment and investment in the education sector.

He noted that several states have reportedly gone years without hiring new teachers despite persistent shortages in public schools.

“The constraint is at the hiring and deployment end of the pipeline, not only at the training entry stage. Removing the UTME requirement does not automatically translate to more teachers in classrooms,” he added.

The education advocate also raised concerns about maintaining quality standards in teacher education, noting that the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) primarily verifies credentials rather than assessing candidates’ teaching aptitude or academic readiness.

He further stressed that improving teacher welfare, strengthening professional development programmes, and enhancing institutional support would be more effective in attracting and retaining qualified educators.

Aderibigbe called on the Federal Ministry of Education to provide clearer guidelines on competency assessments for admissions into NCE programmes under the revised policy.

He also urged the National Commission for Colleges of Education to establish a robust framework to ensure quality assurance in institutions admitting candidates without UTME scores.

According to him, sustained investment in teacher recruitment and welfare remains essential to improving learning outcomes across Nigeria’s public education system.

“A child’s right to education includes access to qualified and well-supported teachers,” he said.