Education
Nigerian universities promoting ethnic, religious biases – Kukah
By Francesca Hangeior.
The Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah said Nigerian universities are increasingly promoting ethnic and religious biases.
Kukah stated this in an interview with Arise TV on Thursday.
The cleric berated what he described as a worrying trend of declining diversity and meritocracy in Nigerian universities, particularly in Northern Nigeria.
Kukah said, “A mosque was constructed at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I delivered a convocation lecture in Calabar three weeks ago. After my lecture, the Chief Imam of the University came to congratulate me.
“But as I speak to you, Usman Dan Fodio, who is over 40 years old, Bayero University, and other universities in Northern Nigeria have decided to close their doors to the possibility of churches being built in the universities across this country.
“All this fanaticism we are seeing is expressed in public life. If students in the university or at the point of their growing up are not allowed to integrate and interrelate, and if churches or mosques cannot be built across this country, then there is a problem.”
The Bishop added that diversity and meritocracy, in Nigerian universities, have continued to diminish, while, ethnic and religious considerations are gaining prominence.
He stated, “There was a time when Ahmadu Bello University had lecturers from different parts of the world. Now, look at what has happened to our universities across Nigeria. Our universities have become just mere incubators of ethnic jingoism.
“So, I do not know which funded Federal University that you will name that has a Vice Chancellor that is not a local boy.
“So the universities themselves have become playgrounds for the ambitions of the local elite. The question is why should a place of worship be a problem for a university? Whether it is for the Muslim students in Calabar or the Christian students in Sokoto.
“I approached the Minister of Education about this. I have a letter from the Nigerian University Commission. The universities in northern Nigeria have refused to implement this recommendation,” he said.
By Francesca Hangeior
Out of 1,955,069 candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), over 1.5 million of them scored less than 200 in the exam.
The statistical analysis of 2025 UTME result released by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Monday indicated that only 420,415 candidates scored above 200 in the 2025 edition of the UTME.
While 4756 candidates scored above 320, 7658 candidates scored between 300 and 319.
In the statement accompanying the data, JAMB said “40,247 underage candidates were permitted to demonstrate their exceptional abilities. However, only 467 of these candidates (1.16%) achieved scores that meet the threshold for exceptional ability as defined for the UTME, with their performance in the subsequent three stages still pending.”
The Academic Staff Union of Universities has announced the disbursement of the 2024 scholarship to 164 indigent students selected from branches of the union across the country.
This was revealed by the Convener of ASUU Grant, Research and Publications Committee, Professor Christopher Piwuna on Saturday during a press conference at the Sa’adu Zungur University, Yuli Campus, Bauchi State.
Piwuna explained that of the 79 ASUU branches, two successful applicants were selected in every university through a rigorous screening process.
He said each recipient of the scholarship went home with a non-refundable cash-backing of N200,000.
The Convener, who was represented by the former Coordinator ASUU Bauchi-Zone, Lawan Abubakar, said gender balance was reflected in the selection of the beneficiaries.
He disclosed that physically challenged beneficiaries were selected to support them to access tertiary education.
“Over the last two years, ASUU spent about N164, 800,000 on scholarships for indigent students in universities across the country.
“Our Union has been managing the Gani Fawehinmi scholarship for years, we decided to not only organise that of Chief Gani but institute our own.
“This creation was also shaped by the government’s unrelenting attacks on students and their parents through ‘school charges.’
“When we argued that NELFUND scholarship should be a grant, we meant it because we are not asking any parent or beneficiary of our indigent support to repay at a later day,” Piwuna said
Akelicious gathered that to qualify for this scholarship, interested applicants need to prove their indigent economic status and an excellent Cumulative Grade Average Point to the union.
JAMB has announced the date for the release of 2025 UTME Results.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has disclosed that the results of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will be released after the completion of post-examination analyses and other standard procedures.
The exam body made this known via its official social media handle on Tuesday afternoon, calling for patience among candidates who sat for the exam.
2025 UTME results to be released as soon as all post examination analyses and other procedures are completed. Candidates are enjoined to be patient please.
— JAMB (@JAMBHQ) April 29, 2025
The 2025 UTME commenced on Thursday, April 24, and will continue until Monday, May 5.
The nationwide exercise is being conducted across accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres, with over 2,030,627 candidates registered for this year’s examination.
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