NUC, JAMB Approve Admission Quotas for Engineering Programmes in Nigerian Universities - COREN

The National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) have approved the enforcement of admission quotas for engineering and technology programmes in Nigerian universities as part of efforts to improve the quality of engineering education and practical training.

The President of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, disclosed this on Tuesday during a media briefing ahead of the council’s 34th Engineering Assembly in Abuja.

Abubakar said the approval would ensure that universities admit only the number of students their available infrastructure, laboratories, workshops, equipment and academic staff can adequately support.

“I am happy to inform the nation that we have finally gotten the approval and endorsement of both the National Universities Commission and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to enforce admission quotas in all engineering and technology programmes run by Nigerian universities.”

He explained that the new policy would place engineering education on the same regulatory level as other professional disciplines where admissions are carefully controlled to maintain standards.

“What this means is that the engineering profession has now come to the level of the medical profession, the legal profession, the pharmaceutical profession and similar disciplines where admissions are carefully regulated to ensure quality.”

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The COREN president said the decision was aimed at producing better-trained engineering graduates with practical skills capable of competing internationally.

“We are trying to ensure there is a quality training regime at the university level so that we produce competent graduates with stronger hands-on competencies who will not only practise successfully in Nigeria but compete favourably anywhere in the world.”

He described the development as a major milestone for the engineering profession, noting that years of unrestricted admissions had placed pressure on facilities and weakened practical training in many institutions.

“This is going to be a game changer for our country and for the workforce Nigeria is likely going to export globally. Engineering is becoming increasingly global, and our graduates must possess the practical competence required to compete internationally.”

Abubakar added that COREN was also working with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to introduce similar admission controls for engineering programmes in polytechnics.

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He further announced the reintroduction of indexing and oath-taking for engineering graduates, as well as a mandatory one-year Engineering Residency Programme for degree and Higher National Diploma (HND) holders before proceeding for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

According to him, the residency programme would provide graduates with structured industrial exposure and improve their readiness for professional practice.

The COREN president also revealed that the council had trained and certified 239 engineering infrastructure failure and forensic investigators to handle investigations into cases such as building collapses, bridge failures and industrial accidents.

He added that 839 engineering programme evaluators from academia and industry had been trained to strengthen accreditation and quality assurance in universities and polytechnics.

Abubakar said COREN had intensified nationwide compliance inspections, expanded its regional offices, digitised its registration process and reactivated its disciplinary tribunal as part of measures to strengthen engineering regulation in Nigeria.

He warned that many engineering failures were linked to non-compliance with professional standards.

“We now have a critical mass of engineering infrastructure failure and forensic investigators in Nigeria who are ready to commence this important regulatory assignment.”

“The objective is to determine scientifically what went wrong whenever engineering infrastructure fails, identify those responsible and recommend measures that will prevent future occurrences.”

The 34th Engineering Assembly, themed “Advancing Public Safety in Nigeria Through Strategic Engineering Regulation, Enforcement and Tiered Sanctioning Regime,” is expected to focus on improving engineering governance, strengthening professional regulation and reducing infrastructure failures across the country.

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