Universities Fill 74% of Approved Spaces as Polytechnics and Colleges Lag at 34%

Over 700,000 approved tertiary admission slots remained vacant across Nigerian higher institutions in 2025, revealing a significant structural mismatch in the country’s admissions system.

According to a report titled “The Admissions Gap: Who Gets into Nigeria’s Tertiary Institutions, and Why It Matters” published by the iRead To Live Initiative, Nigerian institutions filled only 58.8% of their total approved capacity, utilizing 1,009,736 out of 1,716,154 available places.

The data indicates a sharp contrast between degree-awarding universities and non-university institutions. Universities recorded a 74% fill rate, securing 785,180 students out of 1,060,919 approved spaces. Conversely, polytechnics, colleges of education, and other tertiary institutions filled just 34.3% of their capacity.

The think tank noted that these findings challenge the long-held assumption that Nigeria’s admission challenges stem solely from a lack of institutional capacity. Instead, the report points to a disconnect between candidate preferences, course choices, academic qualifications, and regional accessibility.

To address these disparities, the group urged the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to publish comprehensive, disaggregated admissions data by state, gender, subject, and institution type. The report also recommended that JAMB release the evidence behind annual UTME cut-off marks and publish an annual Admissions and Access Report to ensure data consistency across admission cycles.