FG abolishes admission by catchment, starting 2020/2021 session

The Federal Government has mandated all the federal universities across the country to stop admission by catchment area policy, starting from the next admission session, that is 2020. The information was conveyed by Deputy Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Suleiman Yusuf, on behalf of the president during the 45th convocation ceremony of the University of Benin held yesterday in Benin City. Recall that up until now, federal universities gives candidates from states close to the university special considerations during admission. The implication of this is that a candidate from a far state with higher score may not be given admission while a candidate from a nearby state with a lower score is given admission. ”If you look at the demographics of the various Nigerian universities, it reveals a preponderance of over localisation and over indigenization with only a few universities including those owned by the federal government having a semblance of national institutions in terms of the national spread of their staff and students population. “Universities should be more broad-minded, less parochial and eschew over indigenization. “Government expects university managers to do a lot more with less, given the economic reality confronting us as a nation today. This calls for innovative and transparent management practices. “Funding is not just about the quantum of fund disbursed to universities, it also includes the judicious management of available funds to ensure that we get more mileage on whatever funds are expended”, Mr Suleiman said.