From 2020 to 2023, the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) was the most sought-after higher education institution in Nigeria among Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidates.
The discovery was revealed recently at an ongoing policy discussion headed by Andrew Adejoh, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education.
According to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the top 10 universities chosen by candidates during the 2023 UTME are the University of Ilorin, followed by the University of Lagos, and Lagos State University, which received 55,964 applications.
JAMB stated during the meeting that UNILORIN was the most popular first choice for institutions in the previous four years (2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023).
According to JAMB, the university received 103, 582 applications in 2020, with Ahmadu Bello University following closely behind with 82, 984 applications.The university also received the majority of total UTME applications, with 78,466 in 2021 and 73,749 in 2023, leading the pack.
The University of Lagos remains the closest competitor, with 59,190 in 2021 to come second. UNILAG was also the second most applied-for institution in 2022 and 2023, with 61,606 applications. It placed third in 2020, following UNILORIN and ABU.
The Federal University, Oye Ekiti with 53,235 candidates is placed fourth, while the University of Benin 48, 026 applicants, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka with 43,660 candidates are in the fifth and sixth position respectively.
Others are the Obafemi Awolowo University with 41,959 candidates in the seventh ranking, Nnamdi Azikwe University with 41,759 placed eighth, while Nigerian Defence Academy with 41, 323, and the University of Ibadan in the ninth and tenth positions respectively.
It was reliably gathered that some Nigerians believe that UTME candidates prefer UNILORIN because, for many years, the institution has not had any form of strike, unlike many other public tertiary institutions in the country.