Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has said the federal government’s decision to exempt colleges of education and selected agricultural courses from the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will increase admissions into tertiary institutions by about 1.5 million this year.
Speaking on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Alausa said the reform was designed to expand access to higher education and create more opportunities for young Nigerians.
According to the minister, the new policy removes the UTME requirement for candidates seeking admission into colleges of education, as well as those applying for non-technology agricultural courses in polytechnics and monotechnics.
“Guess what, this year alone, with the changes we are making through eliminating UTME requirements for colleges of education and UTME requirements for non-technology agricultural courses in our polytechnics and monotechnics would increase the number of people being admitted throughout tertiary institutions to about 1.5 million,” he said.
Alausa noted that the projected figure would represent a significant increase compared to admission numbers recorded two years ago.
“That is literally doubling it from two years ago. This has created opportunities for young Nigerians,” he added.
The minister explained that the policy was partly introduced to support the federal government’s food security agenda by encouraging more students to pursue agricultural studies.
“The exemptions are for people going into colleges of education and people going to monotechnics or polytechnics to study non-technology agriculture courses, and there is a reason for that. We need that to help food security in our country,” he stated.
Alausa also revealed that the Ministry of Education had commenced plans to overhaul agricultural curricula across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to align with modern realities in the sector.
According to him, the review would incorporate contemporary agricultural methods and innovations that have emerged over the past decade, including greenhouse farming and other modern techniques.
“Hopefully by the end of this year, we will have a brand new agric curriculum that meets modern day standard,” the minister said.
The policy was first announced on Monday during the 2026 policy meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board in Abuja.
Under the new admission guidelines, candidates seeking admission into the affected institutions and courses will only be required to possess a minimum of four O-level credits in their school certificate examinations.
Alausa further stated that the reform would reduce the administrative pressure on the examination body while also leveraging the growing interest among young Nigerians in the teaching profession.
