FG Uncovers Over 258,000 Illegal Admissions in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions, Discloses Grave Consequences for Institutions and Officials

The Federal Government has revealed that illegal admissions in Nigerian tertiary institutions are far larger than previously estimated, with universities accounting for more than 200,000 cases and colleges of education another 58,000.

The Education Minister, Dr Tunji Alausa disclosed this on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, in Abuja while inaugurating a ministerial committee on strengthening accreditation and quality assurance for tertiary institutions.

According to Alausa, the scale of the problem goes well beyond ordinary administrative lapses. Admissions carried out outside approved procedures, including the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s Central Admissions Processing System (JAMB CAPS), have become widespread. He described the situation as a shame and made clear that the government will no longer repeatedly legitimise such practices through amnesty or condonement.

For colleges of education, the ministry had initially expected only about 5,600 students to be affected when it considered a one-time amnesty. The actual number discovered was 58,000 nationwide. In one institution cited by the minister, 8,593 students were admitted legally while 9,872 were admitted illegally, sufficient to say that the illegal numbers exceeded the legal ones. University figures are still being fully established but are estimated at not less than 200,000 and possibly higher. Similar irregularities exist in polytechnics.

The minister linked the problem to institutions admitting students far beyond their approved carrying capacities. An institution approved to take 100 students might later admit around 1,000. This overloads lecturers, infrastructure and teaching resources, and produces poorly trained graduates. Alausa noted that employers often struggle to find competent candidates even when hundreds apply for a handful of positions.

He further noted that officials who continue to approve illegal admissions risk losing their jobs, while private institutions face the possibility of licence withdrawal. For students, admissions conducted outside CAPS will not be recognised, this creates serious risks around academic records, graduation, National Youth Service Corps eligibility and future verification of certificates.

Meanwhile, institutions have been directed to submit complete lists of affected students for possible regularisation under the approved amnesty for the relevant academic sessions. Going forward, the Ministry of Education has signalled zero tolerance.

In the same address, Alausa announced major reforms to the accreditation process for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. He warned institutions against the common practice of temporarily borrowing academic staff, non academic personnel, equipment, laboratories, workshops, library materials and other facilities solely to impress accreditation teams, only to return them afterwards.

“An institution should not be able to prepare a temporary picture of itself simply for the purpose of an accreditation visit. Sadly, this is what persists in the majority of instances,” the minister said. Accreditation must reflect an institution’s actual and sustainable capacity, not a temporary arrangement assembled for the visit.

The newly inaugurated committee, chaired by former JAMB Registrar Professor Is-haq Oloyede, has been tasked with transforming accreditation from periodic exercises into a continuous, digital, evidence-based and hard-to-manipulate quality assurance system. Plans include: Digital identity management and staff verification frameworks using national identity systems including NIN and BVN so that “one individual, one verifiable identity and an accurately declared institutional affiliation” can be confirmed; Geospatial mapping, geotagging and unique digital records for critical equipment and facilities linked to specific institutions and locations; Continuous tracking of student enrolment, staffing levels, laboratories and infrastructure so that regulators already possess reliable data before any physical visit; Mechanisms to verify that resources remain available after accreditation exercises.

The goal as reported, is a system that is credible, transparent, technology driven, efficient and based on independently verifiable evidence with regulators being held accountable for enforcing standards.