Aluede, Oyaziwo; Idogho, Philipa; Imonikhe, Justina (2012)

This paper conceptualized access to education and presented documentary evidence regarding the demand and supply of university education in Nigeria. It reported that of the number of candidates applying for admission every year in Nigeria, only about 5.2% to 15.3% get admitted every year, meaning that about 84.7% to 94.8% of the candidates seeking admissions every year never get admitted into Nigerian universities. The paper recognized the fact that this low access to university education in Nigeria could be the result of the following: problem of carrying capacity; infrastructural/ facilities challenge; inadequate public financing; economic constraints; labor market failure (low absorptive capacity of the economy; and problem of curriculum and curriculum delivery. Towards achieving greater access to university education in Nigeria, this paper recommended the following: curbing financial waste in the Nigerian University System (applying the policy of consolidation to its letter); downsizing the number of support staff in Nigerian University System; retraining of Nigerian universities' academic staff to embrace ICT/ e – learning; mandating all universities in Nigeria to establish distance learning centres to provide more opportunities for all to have access to university education; and revision of education trust fund support for the production (books and journals in Nigerian tertiary institutions to be directed towards production) of online materials for distance learning centers that would serve the greater populace desiring university education.