University admission quota system not favorable to southern Nigerian Students 

Ohanaeze 

says KCS Igboeli, National President of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo student union worldwide.

.... Calls for a review or total scrapping of the quota system.

The National President of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Student union worldwide, His Excellency KCS Igboeli has called on the university commission to review the admission quota system of Nigerian universities as he considers it not favourable to the southern part of the country.

Igboeli made the call at the March 2023 national conference of The Supreme Council of Southern Nigeria ethnic youths at Roban hotels Enugu State.

According to the leader of the apex igbo student body, The Quota system is no longer in the overall interest of Nigerian especially the southern Nigeria. 

It will be in everybody’s best interest if the Federal Government can abolish it once and for all. Entry to Federal Government owned institutions should be based on merit. Allow all students to compete fairly and justly. The decision to be educated should be determined by a student’s knowledge, skills and capability and not religion, state of origin or geographical location.

We cannot continue to force education on those that are not interested in learning and deprive other willing citizens of their chance all in the name of quota system. That is unjust. State governments should be saddled with the responsibility of narrowing education gaps in their areas.

"In the so called quota policy, merit is given 45 per cent. This covers all candidates from the country; it gives automatic admission once you meet the cut-off mark. The second is catchment, which is 35 per cent; while the third factor is educationally less advantaged states, which is 20 per cent.

Igboeli also demanded an end to the policy, which he argued, deny candidates who merit admission, the opportunity to gain access into higher institutions of their choice.

He said that the policy had outlived its usefulness, describing it as discriminatory, encouraging mediocrity and discouraging excellence.

“For instance, in Nigeria university quota system, you will see a jamb student from the South who scored up to 300 or more in jamb, but the University of his/ her choice will deny him/her admission to study the course of his choice, but in the same university, you will see a student from the north who scored 200, 180 or less being offered admission to study any choice of his / her choice in the same university that denied someone with the score of 300 and above admission. It doesn't even end there, after graduating, a graduate from the southern part will be posted to the remote area in the northern part of the country while the northern graduates will be posted to NNPC, companies and cities in the southern part of Nigeria, all these systems need to be reviewed as they don't reflect the principles of federal character"

Quota system creates a mediocre kind of educational system,” he said.

Chris Onwa Mmaju 

National Publicity Secretary 

Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Student union worldwide.