… as agric records least admissions
Despite the yearly increase in the number of secondary school graduates seeking admission to tertiary institutions across the country, statistics from the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board have revealed that less than half of the candidates seeking admission get admitted.
It was also discovered that despite the Federal Government’s touted diversification to agriculture, agriculture-based courses recorded the least admission, according to the JAMB statistics.
The Point discovered through JAMB 2015 statistics, based on faculty applications into Nigerian universities, that the Faculty of Social Sciences had the highest number of applicants while the Faculty of Agriculture came first from the rear with the lowest number of applicants, even as it also recorded the least admissions. Social Sciences came tops with 330,010 applicants, made up of 187,110 and 142,900 males and females respectively.
Out of the 330,010 applicants seeking admission into the Faculty of Social Sciences across the country only 76,557, or 23.2 per cent were admitted into universities, with 33,091 being males and 43,466 were females. Faculty of Medicine came second with 266,269 applications, comprising of 107,188 males and 159,081 females.
However, only 63,850, representing 24 per cent got admission, out of which 35,534 were females and 28,316 were males. The Faculty of Medicine was closely followed by the Faculty of Sciences, which had 220,059 applicants seeking admission, made up of 133,754 and 86,305 males and females respectively.
Out of the 220,059 applications, only 65,605, representing 29.8 per cent, were successful, consisting of 25,632 females and 39,973 males. Following closely is the Faculty of Engineering, Technology and Environmental Design, which had 219,422 applicants with 183,704 of them being males and females accounting for 35,718. Out of 219,422 applicants, 62,912, representing 28.7 per cent were admitted, made up of 10,102 females and 52,810 males. Coming fifth was the Faculty of Administration (Business and Public) with 135,797 applications, comprising 67,422 and 68,375 males and females respectively.
Only 29,938 applications, representing 22 per cent, and made up of 15,049 females and 14,889 males respectively, were successful. Faculty of Law and Legal Studies came next with 86,053 applications, made up of 40,760 males and 45,293 females. Only 27.9 per cent, or 23,983 were offered admission, out of with 13,132 were females and 10,851 were males.
despite the Federal Government’s touted diversification to agriculture, agriculturebased courses recorded the least admission
Following closely was the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, with 69,759 applicants, consisting of 33,303 and 36,456 males and females respectively. Of the lot, 12,667 females and 11,396 males were offered admission, totaling 24,063 or 34.5 per cent. Taking the second position from the rear was the Faculty of Education, which had 67,268 applications, made up of 28,064 males and 39,204 females.
Only 26,778 of the applicants or 39.8 per cent were admitted; consisting of 15,751 females and 11,027 males. Picking the bottom price was the Faculty of Agriculture, with the least applications of 29,991, made up of 14,873 males and 15,118 females. Surprisingly, female applicants into the Faculty of Agriculture were more than their male counterparts.
However, only 10,756 applications or 35.9 per cent were successful, consisting of 5,130 females and 5,626 males. For admission into Nigerian polytechnics, according to the JAMB 2015 statistics, Social Sciences Faculty recorded the highest applications of 12,854, while the Faculty of Science had the least, with 2,373 applicants. Of Social Sciences’ 12,854 applications, made up of 6,575 and 6,270 males and females respectively, 6,712 or 52.2 per cent were successful, comprising of 3,214 females and 3,498 males. Coming a distant second on the log was Faculty of Engineering, with 7,423 applicants, made up of 6,446 and 977 males and females respectively, with 5,016 applicants or 67.6 per cent scaling the huddle, consisting of 645 females and 4,371 males.
Faculty of Health Science had 4,995 applications, consisting of 1,712 males and 3,283 females; with a success rate of 49.1 per cent or 2,453 made up of 1,580 and 873 females and males respectively.
Following was the Faculty of Agriculture, with 2,704 applications made up of 1,724 male and 980 female applicants respectively. About 49.1 per cent or 2,453 applicants, made up of 1,580 and 873 females and males respectively were successful.
The Faculty of Sciences, which had the least application of 2,373, made up of 1,585 males and 788 females, however, had the second highest admission rate of 65.2 per cent or 1,547 applications, made up of 1,059 males and 488 females, after Faculty of Engineering.
The statistics also revealed that the Faculty of Arts had the higher applications for admission into Nigerian Colleges of Education for Nigeria Certification in Education, of the two faculties where admissions were sought. It had 12,354 applications, consisting of 7,071 male and 5,283 female applicants respectively. 8,897 or 72 per cent were successful, made up of 5,030 males and 3,867 females.
Faculty of Sciences received 6,368 applications from 4,463 and 1,905 males and females respectively, however, 71.5 per cent or 4,550 applications were successful and they were made up of 3,199 and 1,352 male and female applicants respectively. Director of the Information Technology Centre of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Nkpolu-Port Harcourt, Professor Solomon Braide, expressed shock at not only the statistics, but also at the rate at which applicants are running away from agriculture-based courses of study.
He said, “Sometimes ago in RSUST, we had good number of applicants, and the Rivers State government through the RSSGA tried to encourage students to go into the Faculty of Agriculture, by giving them incentives and those who did very well even had extra cash as reward “All these were motivating factors for all candidates who applied for agriculture-based courses, and at least, they can assist themselves better than other students applying for other programmes, but even that did not work.”
He added that RSUST also offered admission to candidates who could not gained admission to faculties of their choice, to study agriculture, but unfortunately, only few of them took up the offers.
He concluded that the big problem is that there is no adequate awareness and most students think agriculture is all about using cutlass and hoe to plant crops, “but agriculture is more than that and that is what they have failed to understand.”
A professor of English at the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Professor Obododimma Oha, said people cannot be forced to study agriculture, because they have choices, and forcing them will be a form of dictatorship
