3,500 out of 60,000 candidates to get UI admission

Provost faults lowering of cut-off marks for colleges of education

The University of Ibadan (UI) will offer admissions to only 3,500 out of the 60,000 candidates that applied for its undergraduate courses, a figure 50 per cent lower than what the National University Commission (NUC) has allotted the institution.

Giving the breakdown yesterday, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Idowu Olayinka, said though the institution had capacity to admit 7,000 candidates out of the 20,949 that sat for its recently concluded Post Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), only 3,500 candidates would be considered.

He ruled out admission for any candidate that scored less than 50 per cent in the UTME due to its resolve to create space for post-graduate students.

Meanwhile, the Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Lagos, has warned that lowering cut-off marks for Colleges of Education (CoE) in the country could affect teacher education adversely.

Dr. Sijibomi Olusanya stated this during a briefing at the college on activities for the institution’s 37th convocation and 50th anniversary yesterday.

He said: “We have been telling the government to change the NCE programme to two years. Then after the two years, you spend another two years to get a Bachelor’s degree, so it will amount to the same four years. If we can do that, enrolment will improve. It is not lowering cut-off marks that will make students come to CoE; it is the problem of spending longer years in the higher institution. That is why we are not having the best brains in teacher education. If we make it a two-year programme, many students will apply and we will pick the best out of them. If the programme is attractive, you don’t need to lower cut-of marks.”

Olayinka added that the 200 cut-off mark set for students to take the examination was put in place to maintain standard.