Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, has called on Vice Chancellors of the nation’s universities to swiftly embrace hybrid learning technology to address the significant shortfall in university admissions.
Speaking during a meeting in Abuja, the minister highlighted that only about 330,000 students out of the two million who apply annually through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) secure admission, leaving nearly 75% without access to higher education.
Hybrid learning, a model combining in-person and virtual instruction, is being positioned as a key solution to the admission crisis. The minister mandated that all universities adopt the Anthology Blackboard system by the end of 2025, warning that institutions failing to comply would lose access to their ICT intervention funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
He further stressed the importance of remote learning, particularly for students in northern Nigeria facing security challenges. “If students can’t physically attend classes, universities must use technology to keep them engaged,” he added.
The minister also urged universities to prioritise globally in-demand courses such as Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity, IT automation, biomedical technology, and nursing. He noted that UNESCO data indicates a global shortage of two million professionals in these fields.
He advised a shift away from less marketable disciplines like history, zoology, and sociology.
Alausa also stressed the need for universities to maintain accurate data to enable better planning and policy interventions.
The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abdulahi Yusuf Ribadu, echoed this sentiment, urging institutions to respond promptly to data requests. “Delays in submitting data lead to distorted information. If a university is shortchanged due to missing data, it has no grounds for complaint,” Ribadu warned.
He further emphasised the need to expand infrastructure and human resources to support increased admissions and enhance facilities for professional and technical courses.
JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, acknowledged the limitations in increasing student admissions, noting that universities can only admit students based on their available facilities. While he supported increasing admissions, he stressed that it must align with infrastructure capacity and academic requirements, including the minimum Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scores and relevant subject combinations.
He also backed the push for better data management, saying universities must accurately track student numbers, both full-time and part-time, to facilitate proper planning.
On the shift toward specialised courses, Oloyede urged societal awareness to help students and parents focus on fields that offer better career prospects rather than outdated disciplines.
Professor Tanko Ishaya, Chairman of the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Federal Universities, expressed the commitment of university heads to supporting the government’s initiatives, particularly in skill acquisition and hybrid learning adoption.
