The Nigeria Union of Teachers has criticised the Federal Government’s decision to exempt candidates seeking admission into Nigeria Certificate in Education programmes from writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, warning that the policy could further weaken standards in the teaching profession.
NUT National President, Audu Titus Amba, stated the union’s position at a sensitisation workshop for teachers in Abuja. The event was organised by 21st Century in collaboration with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria.
Amba said the union was worried that teacher education was increasingly becoming a fallback option for candidates who could not secure admission into universities and other preferred tertiary institutions. He argued that colleges of education should attract some of the country’s strongest candidates, not be treated as a last resort.
“Why can’t we now say that anyone going to College of Education to become a teacher tomorrow must be among the highest-scoring candidates in UTME?” he asked. “Colleges of Education are supposed to have the best candidates, but unfortunately, when people fail to secure university admission, they are told to go and manage NCE.”
The Federal Government announced the UTME waiver during the 2026 admission policy meeting organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board in Abuja. Education Minister Tunji Alausa said candidates seeking admission into NCE programmes would no longer be required to sit for UTME, provided they meet the minimum admission requirements, including relevant credit passes.
The policy is part of efforts to improve access to teacher education, but the NUT insists that lowering admission barriers without improving quality could damage the future of basic education.
In her keynote address, TRCN Registrar, Dr. Ronke Soyombo, said Nigeria’s education system must prepare teachers for a fast-changing digital economy. She said teachers must be technologically skilled, innovative and professionally competent enough to equip students with modern learning and workplace skills.
Minister of Education Tunji Alausa, represented by Dr. Iyabo Ali, also called for continuous teacher training, stressing that educators must upgrade their digital and innovation skills to meet global standards.
Other stakeholders, including representatives of House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro, urged stronger collaboration to improve teacher quality. Moro warned that more than 70 percent of Nigerian schools lack conducive teaching and learning environments.
The debate over the UTME waiver now places the government’s access agenda against concerns that Nigeria must raise, not lower, the quality of candidates entering the teaching profession.
