The Federal Government’s removal of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) forNational Certificate in Education (NCE) admission has divided stakeholders. Framed as a reform to ease JAMB’s burden and boost teacher supply, critics call it a shortcut that risks lowering standards. With colleges of education filling just 10 per cent of spaces while millions miss out on university admission yearly, ADELOWO ADEBUMITI reports that the waiver raises a key question: whether Nigeria is widening access to teaching or diluting the quality of teachers.

The Ministry of Education recently announced that candidates seeking admission into NCE programmes in colleges of education will no longer be required to sit for UTME.Instead, applicants must register with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB)for screening, document verification and admission processing through the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS).

The minimum requirement remains five O’level credits, including English and Mathematics, with at least four relevant to the course of study.

Government officials said the move is part of a wider push to reform teacher education, tackle manpower shortages, and reduce administrative bottlenecks.

JAMB processed more than 2.2 million candidates for the 2026 UTME, a 10.5 per cent increase from the 2.03 million who sat in 2025. Yet, fewer than half secure admission yearly.

The ministry expressed hope that removing one hurdle for NCE could raise total tertiary admissions from about 1.1 million this year to 1.5 million next year.

The logic is simple: if the bottleneck is UTME, remove it for the segment with the lowest uptake and the highest national need. Nigeria is a signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with SDG-4 aiming to provide inclusive and equitable quality education by 2030. That cannot happen without teachers. And right now, there are not enough of them, and not enough people willing to take up the job.

The data from JAMB and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) paint a picture of a system in distress.Between 2020 and 2024, out of the over 8.9 million candidates whosat UTME, only about 2.7 million gained admission, leaving nearly six million without placement.

In the 2025 admission cycle, JAMB recorded one million admissions out of two million candidates. Degree-awarding institutions filled 785,180 out of 1,060,919 spaces, a 74.01 per cent uptake. National Diploma programmes admitted 198,760 out of 409,229, just 48.57 per cent. The shortfall is most severe at the bottom of the ladder. Colleges of Education admitted only 24,736 candidates out of 234,981 available spaces. That is 10.53 per cent. Innovative Enterprise Institutions did even worse: 1,060 admissions out of 11,025 spaces, or 9.61 per cent.

Over 90 per cent of NCE and NID quota went unused.This is not new. For years, colleges of education have been the third choice. Most UTME candidates aim for universities and polytechnics.

In 2024, provosts of colleges of education and agriculture lowered the minimum admissible score to 100 to attract students. It did little to change perception.

For many candidates, polytechnics and colleges of education are fallback options with less competitive cut-offs. Private universities offer more space, but remain out of reach due to cost.A growing number of students are also looking abroad where requirements are perceived to be more flexible.

The case for the waiver
Access and equity proponents argued that UTME was never designed to be the sole gatekeeper for teacher training. Its removal, they said, will encourage more candidates, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, who cannot afford repeated UTME attempts or coaching.

A School Counsellor at Starfield College, Lagos, Love Ashibuogwu, described the policy as a step in the right direction. She noted that the removal of UTME could encourage more candidates to pursue teaching, particularly those who struggle with standardised tests.

“It may also help address shortages in critical areas such as Mathematics, English, Sciences, and Special Education, while creating employment opportunities and reducing youth unemployment.

Besides, she pointed out that by taking NCE out of the exam hall, the board can focus resources on degree programmes where demand is highest, while colleges can process admissions directly, and with less cost to candidates.

The case against
Critics argued that UTME, for all its flaws, serves as a national benchmark, and removing it without an equivalent quality check risks flooding classrooms with underprepared teachers.

Executive Director of Inmates Educational Foundation,Alabidun Mudathir, noted that without UTME, institutions under pressure may admit weaker candidates simply to fill seats.

Mudathir added that the decision undermines standards and incentivises quantity over quality.

Similarly, an Education Administrator at Adeyemi Federal University of Education, Ondo State,Dr Emmanuel Akinola, warned that meaningful reform must improve access, equity, quality, and relevance together.

Akinola said that simply removing UTME will not make teaching attractive, citing high-performing systems such as Finland, Singapore and Ghana.

“Those countries did not expand teacher training by lowering entry requirements. They did it by making teaching attractive: rigorous selection, competitive pay, scholarships, and professional development. Only then did the best students choose the profession”.

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) have also distanced themselves from the policy, citing poor consultation.

The NUT warned that exempting teacher education from UTME undermines the profession’s integrity, turning it into a dumping ground for candidates who failed to gain admission to universities.

imilarly, the immediate past chairman of NUT Lagos State, Adedoyin Adesina,said the reform may not achieve the desired results because it fails to address the deeper issues discouraging young people from joining the teaching profession.

Adesina maintained that relying solely on secondary school results for admission is dangerous.

Why no one wants to teach
At the heart of the debate is a truth both sides acknowledge: the problem is not just low enrolment, it is the unattractiveness of teaching as a career.Poor salaries, delayed promotions, lack of housing, poor facilities, insecurity in schools, and low societal prestige have made teaching unappealing to bright young minds.

When a profession is seen as the last resort, lowering entry requirements will not change that perception; it may reinforce it.

Akinola noted that declining interest in teacher training reflects structural problems – lowpay, poor facilities, limited career progression, and declining public esteem.

“Unless these are addressed, talented young Nigerians will continue to avoid teaching regardless of admission routes,”Mudathirwarned.

“The real drivers of low enrolment are poor pay, unattractive working conditions, and low prestige. Countries like Singapore and South Korea showed that selective recruitment, backed by competitive pay, sustains both quality and prestige.”

Nigeria needs more teachers, but it has done little to make teaching a job people aspire to. Instead, it is trying to fill vacancies by making it easier to get in.

Quality assurance without UTME?
Stakeholders argued that any credible alternative must be stricter, not weaker. They proposed institution-level quality assurance: tailored aptitude tests, rigorous coursework, supervised teaching practice, and competency-based graduation requirements.

Akinola said: “UTME is not perfect, but it is a nationally standardised measure of readiness. Removing it without a credible alternative risks reinforcing perceptions that colleges of education demand lower ability than universities.”

On his part, Mudathir identified curriculum reform and global benchmarking, saying trimming overloaded NCE courses and emphasising classroom pedagogy would improve relevance.

Ashibuogwu tasked the federal government with pairing access reforms with strong quality assurance, scholarships, modernised facilities, updated curricula, and rigorous supervision of teaching practice.

She noted that the success of the policy will not be measured by the number of students admitted, but by the competence, commitment, and professionalism of the teachers produced.

“Colleges of education need classrooms, hostels, laboratories, libraries, internet access, and better lecturer-student ratios.

Teacher educators need continuous professional development, research funding, and exposure to best practices.
Stakeholders argued that until teachers are paid and treated well, no admission policy will work.

They listed what would attract candidates to include scholarships during training, stipends, competitive remuneration, timely promotions, housing support, and continuous professional development.

They also advocated health insurance, rural incentives, and transparent promotion systems, as well as public campaigns that celebrate teachers, national awards, and media visibility to elevate the profession’s esteem, warning that without these measures, the waiver could backfire.

International lessons
Nigeria is not the first country to grapple with teacher shortages. But the countries that solved it did not do so by lowering the bar.Finland made teaching a prestigious, highly selective profession. Only top graduates are admitted to teacher training, and they receive full scholarships. In return, they get respect, autonomy, and good pay.

Singapore recruits teachers early, pays them competitively, and invests heavily in professional development, while South Korea ties teacher status to rigorous exams and social respect.

Ghana has also moved to make teacher training more attractive through allowances and bonded scholarships. The common thread is not easier entry, it is higher value.Nigeria’s waiver moves in the opposite direction. It makes entry easier without making the profession more valuable.

What next?
The waiver is already in effect for the 2026 admission cycle. Colleges of education are expected to admit directly through JAMB CAPS using O’level results.The immediate test will be numbers. If applications rise significantly, the government will call it a success. But the real test will come in four years, when this cohort graduates and enters classrooms.Will they be better prepared? Will they stay in teaching? Will learning outcomes in primary and junior secondary schools improve? Those are the metrics that matter.

Akinola concluded that the UTME waiver should be “the beginning of comprehensive reform, with the goal of producing not just more teachers, but better ones for a stronger Nigeria.

Others noted that a coherent reform must pair access-widening with better remuneration, improved working conditions, and curriculum realignment.

By addressing these root causes, Nigeria can produce not just more NCE graduates but teachers who genuinely want to teach and are equipped to do so effectively.