Unjust System of Admission: A Review of Law Students

Prior to Nigerian independence, university education was established by the colonial masters mainly with the aim of training and supplying highly skilled manpower to take over the running of the government ministries and establishments and to promote development within the state. Since after independence, these policies, aims of establishing and running of universities have to a large extent remain the same with no major overhauling, especially in public universities. This paper examines how government policies on university education have impact on university admission in Nigeria. In order to achieve this objective the study identifies Government policies on university education and admissions and reviews them in line with the modern day realities, especially as relating to admissions in universities. The relevant literatures/documents studied and used for this paper cover major policies on university admissions, an approach which has received less attention in past studies on university education in Nigeria. This paper will therefore fill the gap in knowledge by studying government polices on Nigerian university admissions with the aim of understanding how the universities have been operating in terms of students' admission. The recent out cry that accompanied Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) attempt to introduce some new policies on admission to universities in Nigeria also makes this study not only relevant but also timely. A qualitative approach was adopted with the use of interviews as the sole research instrument. The findings reveal that admission processes that could add value to the quality of the graduates produced have not been considered effective due to different government policies affecting the smooth running of the system.

Bulgarian Comparative Education Society, 2019

The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of the context for education law and policy making in Nigeria and its implementation on youth education. The key focus is on the laws guiding educational policy, along with a case study of the university admission policy and its impact on youth education. The work was first published in the 2018 Yearbook of Education Law in Ohio. The author of this work has always had passion for the Nigerian youth education and she wishes to seek a solution to support and boost education for the youths in Nigeria, youth education seen as currently declining due to the rigor of JAMB admission. A qualitative and quantitative approach to research was employed to seek the opinions of the educators and few of the youths affected in the system. The qualitative approach provided an insight on the history of the British and American educational policies introduced in Africa, which did not meet the needs and expectations of local Nigerian communities. As such, the government of Nigeria opted to develop its own national policy as the way forward to meet the educational needs of indigenous Nigerians. Employing both the quantitative and qualitative approach enabled the analysis and conclusion that the current implementation of policies to streamline the education system in Nigeria leaves room for improvement. The fact that many Nigerian young people leave the country to study abroad reveals a high demand for education, such that the government needs to devise solutions to make university education more reachable by the youths.

The study investigated the admission Practices of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in addressing the challenges of access, gender equity and promotion of federal character principle. The study population comprised 1425 academic and non-academic staff of NOUN in which 6 samples were purposely selected from the population. Interview protocol and documents were used for data collection. The study adopted a qualitative research approach using case study design. Data analysis involved thematic and content analysis via computer assisted software Nvivo 11. The results obtained indicated admission practices of NOUN were a combination of merit based, open access and computerized system of admission which made it possible for every applicant to be admitted without barrier. The result also revealed that although the practice of admission in NOUN had all that is required to address the challenge of access to university education, fear of acceptance, cost, technophobia and lack of awareness were the major reasons that impeded on access to NOUN. The findings also revealed that admission practices of NOUN addressed the challenges of gender equity in accessing university education by democratizing access to education, providing equal access opportunity to applicants and giving freedom to those restricted due to social conditions and the practices also circumvented

International Journal of Law, 2019

The right to education is a fundamental socio-economic human right recognized by over 140 instruments such as national constitutions, covenants, conventions, and treaties across the world. In addition to the recognition of access to education at all levels as a fundamental right in its Constitution, Nigeria is also a signatory to some of the notable international conventions on human rights that rightly included the right to education. Education is basically classified as primary, secondary, and tertiary. Postgraduate studies as a vital component of tertiary education is often aimed at high level manpower development in skills, knowledge and research. As a matter of convention in most Universities, admission to higher degree program is often dependent on two basic factors: possession of requisite qualifications (by the prospective student) as stipulated by the relevant Institution and quota (number of spaces available) on the part of the Institution. This paper follows an analytical approach in discussing how admission to higher degree programs are conducted in public Universities in Nigeria having regard to the common regulatory framework provided by the National Universities Commission. Findings revealed the existence of myriad quasi-policies which are often discriminatory in the manner they are employed. The authors herein argued that such discriminatory conducts amount to an infringement to the rights of the citizenry and thereby calls on the appropriate regulatory authorities to wade into the situation to prevent a further erosion of the rights and privileges of persons who may have their future prospects thwarted by unscrupulous individuals who are habitually bent on frustrating public policies.

The need for access to university education has recently become vital in Nigeria as a result of an increase in the college-age population and an awareness of the role of university education in the development of the individual as well as the nation. Recent admission policies of Nigerian universities have been dissatisfactory to the Nigerian public as many applicants and parents go through difficulties while seeking admission for limited available spaces in the universities. Universities take the task of admission of students into the academic system seriously, using the guidelines set by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB). The National Universities Commission (NUC), which regulates university education in terms of standards, has set policies based on merit, carrying capacity, catchment areas, and quota for educationally disadvantaged states as criteria for admission into all universities. It has been argued that rather than these policies enhancing access to university education, the criteria restrict access to higher education.

International Research in Higher Education, 2015

The purpose of this investigation is thus to explore the perspective of policy implementers and policymakers' on issue related to institutional micro policies towards achieving equality of educational opportunities on access to university education in Nigeria. The investigation used qualitative approach for in-depth understanding of the problem using interview protocol and document analysis as instruments to obtain data and other relevant information for the study, the participants were purposively chosen from the University of the case study. From the study, while the amount of quota allocation has been challenging to some states, Sokoto State is struggling hard to fill the vacancies allocated to it due to the lack of qualified secondary school graduates to enroll in to university, despite the university is allocated in Sokoto with its prime constitutional purpose to ensure equality in the State. In spite of been it the State government sole responsibility for the provision of qualitative basic and secondary education, the university initiated various micro policies towards addressing the problem, among which are; University Matriculation Program to retrain the unqualified secondary school graduates to enable them to enroll in the various degree programs of their choices. Furthermore, the university inaugurated improvement committees which are working independently in making assessment in the areas of needs and advise the government respectively. While the university is accused of reserving vacancies for the Sokoto indigenes through their Matriculation Program, according to the findings of this study the Sokoto State government did not before implemented a single recommendations suggested to it by the improvement committees towards achieving equality of educational opportunity on access to university education.

The Nigerian higher education is the largest in Africa. Higher education in Nigeria are established with the main aim of producing manpower for the development of the country. Nigerian higher education is faced with many problems. It has been observed that every year millions of people applied for admission and placement in the various higher institutions but only few were finally admitted. This problem have caused many young Nigerian to seek foreign higher education. This paper discussed the factors responsible for the admission crisis in the Nigerian higher institutions. Among other factors discussed were the concept of higher education, admission crisis and the factors responsible for the admission crisis in the Nigerians' higher institutions. The paper concluded by given some recommendations. Secondary and primary data were used in the paper. The paper used social demand theory.

This paper examines the legal status of a student in Nigeria University and the principles of fair hearing. The paper argued in detail that it is often logical to make universities conform with the tenets of Natural Justice in the management of its own affairs, particularly with regard to student admission and disciplinary procedures. Short cut procedure should not be adopted by the university when expelling or suspending any erring student. Rather even if the student appeared guilty of the offence, he must still be seen to be treated fairly and in accordance with the law. The paper also brings to light that fair hearing incorporates a trial done in accordance with the rule of natural justice and natural justice carries with it the implication that justice should not only be done but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen done. Right to fair hearing is so fundamental that it could neither be waved nor taken away by a statute whether expressly or by implication. Fair hearing is a judicial or administrative hearing conducted in accordance with due process. The law of God and man gives the party an opportunity to make defence if he has any in treatment of matters affecting him.

This paper is designed to study admission policies’ effect on both students and institutions, how admission policies have been positioned, and the contemporary issues facing the sector in terms of creation of a new university. In order to achieve this objective, the study focuses on identifying what universities’ policies on admissions are by a standard literature review of government policy. The literature review covers major policies on university admissions, an approach that has received little attention from past studies on university education in Nigeria. A qualitative approach is adopted using interviews as the sole research instrument. Medical students who are newly admitted, and those who failed to gain admission, were interviewed with the hope of unveiling issues that affect the admission process. Therefore, this paper fills a gap in knowledge by studying government policies on Nigerian university admission with the aim of understanding how universities operate. The findings reveal that the admission process is an element of university business management that requires effective maintenance in order to produce quality graduates that will make the situation in the country better.

2023

There are growing concerns about college admissions in anticipation of the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2023. In Nigeria, many young graduates from high schools face several challenges in getting admission into Federal and State-owned universities on merit. Unlike the U.S., where race is considered amongst other requirements as a preference for admission into some schools, university admission offices in Nigeria tend to consider the applicants' ethnicity and other factors such as religion, federal character, high scores in the Joint Admission Matriculation Board Examination, etc., when admitting students into Federal or State-owned institutions. This paper will describe the historical background of Affirmative Action in the U.S., the history of the regulatory body for university admissions in Nigeria, constitutional and statutory provisions for the right to education in Nigeria, and the U.S., the brief of the case of Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. the University of North Carolina. I will also discuss the justification for race as a preference for college admissions in the U.S., compare affirmative action and the quota systems for admissions in the U.S., and discuss how to ensure equitable access to quality education in Nigeria and the U.S. This paper will conclude with some reforms that can be incorporated into Nigeria's admission process to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of quality education.