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Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(12B): 8118-8128, 2020 http://www.hrpub.org
DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.082614
Trend Analysis of the Demand and Supply of University
Admission Places in Delta State University (2013 – 2017)
Vinella Okonta
Department of Educational Management & Foundations, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria
Received October 9, 2020; Revised November 25, 2020; Accepted December 13, 2020
Cite This Paper in the following Citation Styles
(a): [1] Vinella Okonta , "Trend Analysis of the Demand and Supply of University Admission Places in Delta State
University (2013 – 2017)," Universal Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 8, No. 12B, pp. 8118-8128 2020. DOI:
10.13189/ujer.2020.082614.
(b): Vinella Okonta (2020). Trend Analysis of the Demand and Supply of University Admission Places in Delta State
University (2013 – 2017). Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(12B), 8118-8128. DOI:
10.13189/ujer.2020.082614.
Copyright©2020 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License
Abstract This study traced the trend of demand and
supply of university admission places in Delta State
University for 2013/14 to 2017/18 academic sessions
vis-à-vis the prevailing situation in Nigeria. It adopted the
ex post facto design. Three research questions were raised
to guide the study. Findings revealed a worrisome gap
between the total numbers of applicants and admitted
candidates per session and pointed out that 102,594 was the
total number of applicants while 29,460 representing
28.72% was the total number of admitted candidates for the
five (5) years under review. It equally shows Clinical
Medicine and Pharmacy as faculties with the least numbers
of admissions. The study recommended that stakeholders
should think of ways and means of expanding the
university’s ‘carrying capacity’ as well as attract adequate
qualified manpower to enable the institution absorb more
applicants. Again, it is recommended amongst other things
that programmes such as Sandwich, Part-time programme
and Continuous Education Programme (CEP) should be
re-introduced as strategies of giving more applicants the
opportunities to be admitted.
Keywords Analysis, Demand, Supply, University
Admission, Applicants, Admitted Candidates
1. Introduction
Higher education in general and university education in
particular has been a breeding ground for persons with
intellectual capacities to be trained for middle and high
level manpower requirement of nations. The higher
education system consists of the university and the
non-university sector – polytechnics, monotechnics and
colleges of education. The National Policy on Education
[1] spelt out the goals of higher education to include:
a). Contribute to national development through high
level relevant manpower training;
b). Develop and inculcate proper values for the survival
of the individual and society;
c). Develop the intellectual capability of individuals to
understand and appreciate their local and external
environments;
d). Acquire both physical and intellectual skills which
will enable individuals to be self-reliant and useful
members of the society; amongst others.
Higher education in Nigeria and by extension university
education the world over has been perceived as the only
means to a good life; as individuals are becoming more
and more aware of the environment in which they live and
the ways and means of survival. It is an indispensable tool
for promoting the socio-economic, political and cultural
development of nations as it produces and provides the
high level manpower requirement of nations. It is in
recognition of this fact that secondary school leavers and
other members of the society not too educated crave for
university education at an overwhelming rate beyond what
the government can provide.
It is an established fact that Nigerian population has
been growing rapidly over the years. By year 2019, the
country’s population was estimated at 200,963,599 at an
annual growth rate of 2.60% [2]. The World Education
News and Reviews, Western Education Service [3]
reported that over 60% of Nigerian population is under the
age of 24. This shows the rapid growth in the youth
population, that is, the school age population. To be able
Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(12B): 8118-8128, 2020 8119
to provide adequate higher education for this teaming
youth population, the government has increased the
number of universities in Nigeria to 174 [4]; polytechnics
132 (https://www.myschoolgist.com), monotechnics 26
(https://www.samphina.com.ng); and colleges of
education 152 (https://en.m.wikipedia.org) in various
fields of studies. But these notwithstanding, admission
into Nigerian universities has become very competitive as
the increased demand for university education has over
the years remained unabated despite the expansion efforts
of the federal and state governments including private
universities.
Purpose of Study
The study investigated the number of applicants and
admitted candidates in Delta State University for the
period 2013/14 – 2017/18 academic years. In specific
terms, the study was carried out to:
1. examine the total numbers of applicants and admitted
candidates across all disciplines in DELSU for the
academic years under review;
2. ascertain the total numbers of applicants and admitted
candidates per faculty per year in DELSU for the
academic years under review;
3. analyze and determine the percentage rate of
admissions per faculty per session for the period
under review.
Therefore, this study seeks to:
1) Define the concepts ‘demand’ and ‘supply’ as they
relate to university education;
2) Give an overview of demand for and supply of
university admission places as well as its attendant
challenges with particular reference to Nigeria;
3) Trace the trend of demand for and supply of
university admission places in Delta State University
from 2013/2014 to 2017/2018 academic years;
4) Point out the study’s implications for educational
planning;
5) Recommend ways of curbing the identified
challenges.
The Concepts “Demand” and “Supply” in Relation to
Education
The word ‘demand’ is an economic concept used to
express the desire of a person, group of persons or a
society to purchase good and/or services at a particular
price within a given period of time. William [5] defined
demand as “the quantity of a product or service that
consumers are both willing and able to buy at each
possible price, during a given period of time, other things
held constant’. In other words, the law of demand states
that the quantity demanded of a particular good or service
at a particular time is dependent on the price at which the
good or service is being sold or rendered respectively at
that time. That is, the lower the price of a good or service,
the higher the quantity to be demanded and the higher the
price, the lower the quantity to be demanded. To establish
demand, this desire must be backed by the ability to
acquire as well as the willingness and capability to pay for
such goods and/or services.
In relation to education, Nwadiani [6] saw demand as
‘the amount of a commodity like education that would be
bought at a price over a period of time. On his part, Agabi
[7] defined demand for education as the total number of
persons who have expressed the desire to acquire a given
type or level of education at a point in time and who
possess not only the capacity to acquire it but also the
willingness and the capability to pay for it’.
The above definitions point out in clear terms the
conditions that must be satisfied before we can establish
the actual demand for education. Agabi [7] enumerated
these to include:
1) That there must be expressed desires to acquire
education in the form of application forms or requests
from candidates for admission places.
2) That candidates must satisfy the basic entry
qualifications required for each type or level of
education desired.
3) That the person or persons desiring to acquire any
type or level of education must have the willingness
to pay all the costs that must be incurred to acquire
that education.
4) That the person or persons must have the capability to
pay all the costs, suffer all the inconveniences
necessary to acquire the type or level of education so
desired.
It is only when these conditions are met that we can
truly establish that there is an effective demand for any
type or level of education. Again, the peculiar nature of
education as a social good, public good, consumption
good and an economic good has made it impossible for
candidates to demand less education despite its rising cost.
The concept ‘supply’ on the other hand is an economic
concept that describes the total amount of a specific good
or service that is available to consumers at a specific price
or the amount available across a range of prices if
displayed on a graph. It is defined as the willingness and
ability of producers to create goods and services to take
them to market. The law of supply indicates how much of
a good or service a producer is willing and able to offer
for sale at each possible price, other things held constant
[5]. It states that the quantity supplied is usually directly
related to its price, therefore, the lower the price, the
lower the quantity to be supplied.
Relating this to the supply of education, Nwadiani [6]
pointed out that the supply of education is heavily
dependent on government resources, endowment and the
political ‘will’ to support education. The author opined
that only few countries anywhere in the world are in a
position to provide as much education as may be
demanded and decision makers must seek to reconcile
private demand and public need.
From the foregoing, supply of university education can
therefore be defined as the quantity/number of university
admission places that the federal and state governments
through their agency – Joint Admission and Matriculation
8120 Trend Analysis of the Demand and Supply of University Admission Places in Delta State University (2013 – 2017)
Board (JAMB), the public universities and the private
universities are willing and able to offer to the teaming
applicants at a possible price, all things being equal.
Just like the demand for education, certain factors affect
the supply of university education. They include but are
not restricted to:
1) The federal government policy of 60:40 admission
ratio for science and humanity based courses;
2) The government policy on deregulation of university
education;
3) Insufficient number of universities;
4) The challenge of ‘carrying capacity’ of the nation’s
universities;
5) Inadequate educational facilities and infrastructures;
6) Quota system and catchment policy of the federal
government;
7) The challenge of inadequate funding.
These are to be discussed briefly in the next segment of
this paper.
An Overview of the Trend of Demand for and Supply of
University Education in Nigeria
Generally, education is an indispensable tool for
promoting socio-economic, political and cultural
development of nations. University education in particular
is essentially important and useful to man and his society
as it is fundamental to the construction of a
knowledge-based economy and society in all nations. The
ever increasing importance of university education as a
means of strengthening the economy and availing the
individual the opportunity to acquire both physical and
intellectual skills which will enable him to be self-reliant
and useful member of the society [1] has intensified the
demand for university education amongst the teaming
population of Nigerian youths.
With a total population of about 201 million [2,3]
reported that Nigeria’s higher education sector has been
overburdened by strong population growth and a
significant ‘youth bulge’ as more than 60 percent of the
country’s population is under the age of 24. In absolute
terms, supplying education at all levels – primary,
secondary and tertiary to above 60 percent of the total
population has become a difficult task for the federal and
state governments in the midst of other
competing/contending needs of the nation. As pointed out
by Ajayi and Ekundayo [8], ‘Nigeria higher education has
not been able to meet the demand for broadening college
admissions’. The government has not been able to meet
the huge demand of education despite the proliferation of
private universities [9].
Clark and Ausukuya [10] reported that in recent years,
there has been steady growth in the number of universities
approved to award degrees as the government attempts to
respond to rapidly increasing demand; despite the fact that
there is currently still more demand than there is supply of
places. In the same vein, Abubakar Rasheed, the NUC
Executive Secretary cited by Adedigba [9] stated that only
1% of Nigerian population are in universities and
described the situation as ‘unhealthy’. According to the
author, with a population of about 200 million and a total
enrolment of 1.961 million (less than 2 million) in all the
nation’s universities, this translates to roughly 1% of the
population.
With only University of Ibadan, an affiliate of the
University of London in 1948, six universities at the early
years of independence between 1960 – 1972 [11], Nigeria
now has 174 universities made up of 43 federal, 52 states
and 75 private universities [4]. But the number of these
universities notwithstanding, securing admissions into the
nation’s universities especially the public ones has
continued to be a mirage. A look at the trend of the
demand for and supply of admission places in Nigerian
universities shows that the number of applicants (demand)
far outweighs the available admission places.
Table 1. Demand and Supply of University Education in Nigeria (2010 –
2018)
Year
No. of
Applicants
(Demand)
No.
Admitted
(Supply)
%
Admitted
% Not
Admitted
2012 1,503,933 410,157 27.27 72.73
2013 1,668,314 400,157 23.99 76.01
2014 1,632,172 379,793 23.26 76.74
2015 1,428,379 415,500 29.08 70.92
2016* 1,557,017 405,467 26.04 73.96
2017* 1,687,551 418,391 24.79 75.21
2018* 1,793,018 442,353 24.67 75.33
Total 11,270,384 2,871,818 25.48 74.52
Source: [12,13,14,15]
This is graphically presented thus: Figure 1:
Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(12B): 8118-8128, 2020 8121
Figure 1. Demand & Supply of University Admission Places in Nigeria 2012 - 2018
A number of factors (challenges) could be responsible
for the ‘unhealthy’ and ugly trend in the admission of
candidates into the nation’s universities. They include:
1) Federal Government 60:40 Admission Ratio Policy:
One of the challenges affecting the number of
candidates admitted into Nigerian universities yearly
is the issue of the federal government policy of 60:40
admission ratio for the science and humanity based
disciplines respectively. This policy emanated from
the fact that the nation needed more scientists in all
sectors of the economy for the much needed
technological development. The implication of this
policy is that many of the humanity based qualified
candidates would be denied admission in view of the
fact that the slots allotted for them are not enough to
admit majority of the candidates. For instance, Otoja
and Obodumu [16] reported that between 2012 and
2015, disciplines such as Engineering/Environmental
Technology, Medicine and Sciences have higher
admission for each year; and that for 2015, the
cumulative admission for sciences and arts related
disciplines are 2,013,123 and 157,336 respectively.
2) Insufficient Number of Universities: Another
worrisome challenge to the ugly trend in the demand
and supply of university admission places in Nigeria
has been the issue of insufficient number of
universities. With a rapid growth rate in the nation’s
population which was estimated at about 3.2%
(Population Institute Canada, cited by Parr, 2018), the
school age population had equally ‘bulged’ over the
years. It was reported that above 60% of the total
population are under age 24 [3,16]. The implication of
this is that the 99 public universities currently
available are not just enough to accommodate the
high demand for university education. Again, the 75
private universities (which are out of the reach of the
generality of the applicants because of their exorbitant
charges) account for only 5.31% of the total
enrollment in universities across the country [9].
Furthermore, he stated that there is need for more
access either by creating more universities or
expanding existing ones. But the question now as
posed by Adedigba [9] is: “How do you start building
new universities when there is not a single one
amongst the existing universities that is up to the
standard of a university in the real sense of it?” This is
a question that only time will answer.
3) Government Policy on Deregulation of University
Education: Deregulation of university education
means breaking government’s monopoly of the
provision of university education by allowing private
participation in management of university education
in the country. By this act, the government has
dismantled the legal and governmental restrictions on
the operations of education business [17]. It has
withdrawn its controls in the allocation of resources
and in the production process of the graduates of these
licensed private universities. Deregulation was borne
out of the fact that these licensed private universities
were to complement government’s efforts at
providing education to the masses; especially in the
area of increasing access to university education in
order to address the problem of excessive demand
over supply as well as the problem of scarce
educational resources as many of the public
universities lack adequate and modern educational
facilities required for the present day educational
service delivery. This act of the government has a lot
of implications for easy access to university education:
1) Some private universities lower standards for
attraction of applicants [17]; 2) They charge fees,
which candidates from poor families cannot afford to
pay [18]; and 3) They maximize profits from their
investments in education [17] in order to keep up their
financial demands to be able to remain in business. In
absolute terms, deregulation has not actually
improved access to university education as the 75
private universities currently available accounts for
8122 Trend Analysis of the Demand and Supply of University Admission Places in Delta State University (2013 – 2017)
5.31% of the total enrollment in the universities
across the country [9].
4) The Challenge of ‘Carrying Capacity’: The issue of
carrying capacity has greatly reduced the number of
admissions into Nigerian universities. This policy of
the National Universities Commission (NUC)
stipulates the number of candidates to be admitted by
each university. This they do based on the available
human and physical facilities/infrastructures of these
universities. Parr [16] on his part, opined that many
conventional universities in good standing with
respect to quality are being encouraged by NUC to
switch to a dual mode, with a strong open and
distance learning delivery system. This according to
him, would ‘significantly bolster’ the carrying
capacities of these existing universities. The
implications of these assertions can be seen in Table 1,
Figure 1 which showed that of the 11,270,384
applicants for admission between 2012 – 2018, only
2,871,818 representing 25.48% was offered
admission for a period of seven years [12,13,14,15].
5) Inadequate Funding: The nation’s educational sector
especially the university system has over the years
experienced gross underfunding. Akpotu [19]
observed that education in Nigeria has been grossly
underfunded and that it is worrisome to note that over
90% of the federal and state government’s annual
appropriations for education are used for the payment
of salaries and allowances with virtually nothing
allocated to research and less than 10% for capital
projects and procurement of teaching materials. The
growth in the population has resulted in the ever
increasing demand for university education. While
the federal and state government’s efforts at
increasing capacity by building new universities have
generally been positive for access in absolute terms,
they have also created issues related to instructional
quality [3]. This is because expansion of the
university system in Nigeria has not been directly
associated with enhanced funding for these
universities to thrive. Citing Aluede et al [20],
Mahabub [21] stated that in the year 1999, the budget
of 11.2% allocated for education reduced to 5.9% in
2002 and 1.83% in 2003. By 2015, 12.28% of the total
national budget was allocated to education. This has
substantially reduced to 6.48% in the 2020 budget
[22]. The above figures fall short of the 26%
minimum standard stipulated by UNESCO and
NEEDS Assessment Report (2012). The implication
of this is that the funding pattern is not commensurate
with the growth in number of universities; as such, the
universities will continue to lack the basic
infrastructures and facilities necessary to improve
enrollment.
6) Inadequate Educational Facilities/Infrastructures:
Adequacies of educational facilities and
infrastructures are very crucial components in the
delivery of university education. Akpotu [23] noted
that the basic facilities for quality education are
seriously lacking due to under-investment. The author
posits that the poor state of infrastructures frequently
causing students to study subjects mainly in the
humanities and arts, which offer limited job
opportunities creating a large pool of “educated
unemployed” as well as a pool of unmet demand for
qualified science and technology graduates. Again,
Otoja and Obodumu [18] opined that inadequate
provision of human and material resources especially
instructional facilities due to poor funding resulted in
the formation of the ‘principles of faculty carrying
capacity’ which stipulates that admission of students
should be based on available facilities – staff,
classrooms, laboratories, libraries, equipment and
materials. Availability and adequacy of these essential
facilities are the factors considered by the NUC in
determining the carrying capacity of each university.
Therefore, this challenge is the resultant effect of
inadequate funding; and its implications on education
especially university education are the reduced
admission quotas and quality of teaching and
learning.
7) Quota System Policy of the Government: In an
attempt to create equal opportunities for admission
seekers from the various ethnic groups in the country,
the federal government introduced the quota system
policy as “an indispensable tool for inter-ethnic unity,
harmony and social cohesion of the whole country
[24]”. This policy of the federal government and the
NUC entails that preferences are given to the
indigenous places where the universities are located
in considering candidates for admission. Again, all
the states of the federation are grouped into catchment
areas of each federal university in order to give all
applicants equal opportunities. Okoroma [25], Otoja
and Obodumu [18] explained that the quota system
policy consists of such elements as: 1) academic merit
determined by the candidate’s UME scores and this is
allotted 45% of available spaces; 2) catchment area
which ensures that 25% of available spaces must be
reserved for indigenes of the area where the university
is situated; 3) backwardness policy which ensures that
20% of available spaces must be reserved for
indigenes of states considered to be educationally
‘disadvantaged’ or ‘backward’; and 4)
vice-chancellor’s discretion which ensures that 10%
of available spaces must be reserved for the discretion
of the vice-chancellor. Application of these policies in
the admission procedures into the nation’s
universities have deprived many bright, intelligent
and even exceptional applicants the opportunity of
accessing university education. Babalola [26],
Eluemunor [27] and Mahabub [21] believe that many
unqualified candidates have been offered admissions
into Nigeria universities through JAMB as a result of
these policies. This can be very frustrating. The
implication of this is that the quality of university
education has consequently been lowered as a result
Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(12B): 8118-8128, 2020 8123
of these policies which apparently de-emphasize
quality in the selection process [28].
Demand and Supply of University Admission Places in
Delta State University, Abraka (2013/2014 – 2017/2018)
A trend analysis of the demand for and supply of
university admission places in Nigeria revealed that the
gap between demand (applications) and supply
(admissions) is widening over the years as noted by
Akpotu [23]. To this end, it has become necessary to
examine the situation in Delta State University, Abraka.
Research Questions
To guide this study, three research questions were
posed. These are:
1. What were the total numbers of applicants and
admitted candidates across all disciplines in Delta
State University for the 2013/14 – 2017/18 academic
years?
2. What were the total numbers of applicants and
admitted candidates per faculty per academic year in
DELSU for the period under review?
3. What was the percentage rate of admissions offered
per academic year for the period 2013/14 – 2017/18?
2. Methods
The study adopted the ex post facto design as it
described the applicants and admissions’ situation in
DELSU as at the academic years under review. A
self-developed checklist titled, ‘Demand and Supply of
University Admission Places Checklist’ was used to elicit
data from the Admissions Unit of the University. The data
so obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics –
tables, percentages and graphs.
8124 Trend Analysis of the Demand and Supply of University Admission Places in Delta State University (2013 – 2017)
Data Presentation and Analysis
Table 2. Demand and Supply of Admission Places in Delta State University by Faculty 2013/2014 - 2017/2018 Academic Years
Faculty
Applicants, No. Admitted, % Admitted and % Not Admitted Per Year Per Faculty
2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016
No. of
Appli.
No.
Admitted
% Admitted
% Not
Admitted
No. of
Appli
No.
Admitted
% Admitted
% Not
Admitted
No. of
Appli.
No.
Admitted
% Admitted
% Not
Admitted
Agriculture 99 280 282.82 0 104 206 198.07 0 142 389 273.94 0
Arts 886 797 92.03 7.97 659 700 106.22 0 1107 745 67.29 32.71
Basic Med. Sci. 1932 699 36.18 63.82 1703 524 30.76 69.24 2982 797 26.72 73.28
Clinical Medicine 1432 58 4.05 95.95 1803 78 4.32 95.68 2874 65 2.26 97.74
Education 2582 2038 78.93 21.07 2085 1111 53.28 46.72 2873 1638 57.01 42.99
Engineering 2477 0 0 100 0 0 0 100 0 0 0 100
Law 1542 175 11.34 88.66 1692 155 9.16 90.84 2676 145 5.41 94.59
Mgt Sciences 3083 265 8.59 91.41 2025 319 15.75 84.25 4611 430 9.32 90.68
Pharmacy 624 71 11.37 88.63 643 84 13.06 86.94 1191 94 7.89 92.11
Science 2947 1711 58.05 41.95 1419 928 65.39 34.61 2313 1486 64.24 35.76
Social Science 3001 640 21.32 78.68 3811 597 15.66 84.34 5843 691 11.82 88.18
Total 20605 6734 32.68 67.32 15944 4702 29.49 70.51 26612 6480 24.34 75.66
Faculty
Applicants, No. Admitted, % Admitted and % Not Admitted Per Year Per Faculty
2016/2017
2017/2018
No. of Appli. No. Admitted % Admitted % Not Admitted No. of Appli. No. Admitted % Admitted % Not Admitted
Agriculture
182
219
120.32
0
96
169
176.04
0
Arts
1276
708
55.48
44.52
971
557
57.36
42.64
Basic Med. Sci. 3826 732 19.13 80.87 2044 793 38.79 61.21
Clinical Medicine 3269 66 2.01 97.99 1346 77 5.72 94.28
Education
2816
1519
53.94
46.06
1145
1089
95.1
4.9
Engineering
0
45
100
665
230
34.58
65.42
Law
1115
0
0
100
461
129
27.98
72.02
Mgt Sciences
3515
353
10.04
89.96
870
326
37.47
62.53
Pharmacy
1593
95
5.96
94.04
974
106
10.88
89.12
Science 2479 1495 60.34 39.66 1901 1409 74.11 25.89
Social Science 4941 758 15.34 84.66 3948 669 16.94 83.06
Total
25012
5990
23.94
76.06
14421
5554
38.51
61.49
*Source: Computed from fieldwork, 2019.
Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(12B): 8118-8128, 2020 8125
Figure 2. No. of Applicants and Admissions in DELSU from 2013/14 - 2017/18
Figure 3. Overall Percentage Rate of Admitted to Not Admitted Candidates
Research Question 1: What were the total numbers of
applicants and admitted candidates across all
disciplines in Delta State University for the 2013/14 –
2017/18 academic years?
The data presented in Table 2 shows the total numbers
of applicants and admitted candidates across all
disciplines per year for 2013/14 – 2017/18 academic years.
It shows that for 2013/14 academic session, 20605
candidates applied to DELSU while 6734 were offered
admission. For 2014/15 session, while 15944 applied,
4702 were admitted. In the 2015/16 session, 26612
applied while 6480 were admitted. For 2016/17 session,
25012 applied while 5990 were admitted; and for the
2017/18 session, 14421 applied while 5541 candidates
were admitted. Figure 2 shows the graphic representation
of numbers of applicants and admitted candidates across
all faculties for the five academic years studied.
Furthermore, the table shows the percentage admitted
and percentage not admitted per faculty per session. The
overall percentage rate of admitted and not admitted
candidates for the period under review is graphically
presented in Figure 3.
Research Question 2: What were the total numbers of
applicants and admitted candidates per faculty per
academic year in DELSU for the period under review?
Table 2 reveals the numbers of applicants and admitted
candidates per faculty for the period under study. It points
out the faculties with high numbers of applicants and
admitted candidates. Faculties such as Social Sciences
with applicants ranging from 3001 – 5841, Basic Medical
Sciences (1703 – 3826), Science (1419 – 2947), Clinical
Medicine (1346 – 3269), and Education (1145 – 2873)
recorded high number of applicants while faculties such as
Education with figures ranging from 1111 – 2038, Science
(928 – 1711), Social Science (597 – 758) and Arts (557
-797) recorded high number of admissions comparatively
for the academic years reviewed. Clinical Medicine and
Pharmacy with admissions ranging from 58 – 78 and 71 –
106 respectively were faculties with the least number of
admitted candidates for the years under review.
Agriculture was the only faculty where admissions
outweighed number of applicants. There were no
admissions in the Faculty of Engineering until the
2016/17 and the 2017/18 sessions. These are graphically
presented in Figure 4.
8126 Trend Analysis of the Demand and Supply of University Admission Places in Delta State University (2013 – 2017)
Figure 4. Number of Applicants and Admitted Candidates by Faculty
Research Question 3: What was the percentage rate of
admissions offered per academic year for the period
2013/14 – 2017/18?
Table 2 also shows the percentage rate of admissions
for the period studied. In absolute terms, it indicates the
total percentage rate per academic year ranging from
23.94% - 38.51% of the total number of applicants per
session. But, in specific terms, faculties such as
Agriculture (120.32 - 282.82), Arts (55.48 – 106.22),
Education (53.28 – 95.1) and Science (58.05 – 74.11)
recorded high percentage rate of admissions respectively.
Clinical Medicine recorded the least range of
2.01 – 5.72% during the five years under review.
3. Discussion
This study exposed the applicants’ and admissions
situation in DELSU for 2013/14 to 2017/18 academic
years. It revealed the total number of applicants and
admitted candidates per session; with 2015/16 session
having the highest number of 26612 applicants; while
2013/14 session had the highest number of 6734 admitted
candidates. For the five academic years, the study
revealed that 102,594 was the total number of applicants
while 29,460 representing 28.72% was the total number of
admitted candidates. The study affirms the analysis of
[13,14,15] where of the 11,270,384 applicants between
2012 and 2018, only 2,871,818 representing 25.48% were
offered admission for a period of seven years. Again, it
supports Akpotu [23] assertions that the gap between the
demand and supply of university education is widening
over the years.
Furthermore, the study presents Social Sciences,
Science, Education, Basic Medical Sciences, Clinical
Medicine and Pharmacy as ‘most sought after’ faculties
by applicants with Social Sciences recording the highest
number of applicants (5,843) for 2015/16. It equally
shows Education, Science, Social Sciences, Arts and
Agriculture as faculties where candidates were mostly
admitted with Education having the highest number of
2,038 for the 2013/14 session. The study also shows
Agriculture as the only faculty where admissions far
outweighed the number of applicants throughout the years
studied. This situation can be attributed to the numerous
numbers of candidates entering the faculty through the
pre-degree progamme. Also, the percentage of admissions
into Agriculture over the years exceeded the applicants
perhaps because many candidates do not want to study
Agriculture and admissions are given candidates who
originally did not opt for Agriculture.
The study equally indicates that there were no
admissions for Faculties of Engineering for 2013/14 –
2015/16 and Law for 2016/17 academic years. This again
may be the resultant effect of the accreditation status of
both faculties during the period. Admissions into Clinical
Medicine and Pharmacy were the ‘worst hit’ as both
faculties recorded 5.72% and 11.37% of the number of
applicants respectively as their highest rate of admission.
This negates Otoja and Obodumu [18] who reported that
between 2012 and 2015, disciplines such as
Engineering/Environmental Technology, Medicine and
Sciences have higher admissions for each year.
On the percentage rate of admitted candidates per
academic year, the study indicated percentage rates
ranging from 23.94% - 38.51% with 2017/18 having the
highest rate of 38.51% and 2016/17 session recording the
Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(12B): 8118-8128, 2020 8127
least of 23.94% during the period. The percentage rate of
unmet admissions per session was between 61.49% –
76.06%.With an overall percentage rate of 28.72% of the
total number of applicants admitted and 71.28% not
admitted for the five years under review, the study
corroborates Clark and Ausukuya [10] who reported that
despite the steady growth in the number of universities
approved to award degrees by the government, there is
currently still more demand than there is supply of places.
Implications for Educational Planning
The findings of this study have once more exposed the
high figures of unmet demand of university applicants as
experienced in the country. This implies that a great gap
still exists between the demand and supply of admission
places in Delta State University. This ugly situation
cannot be unconnected with the youth population
explosion and the social demand approach to the planning
of education at all levels including university education
without recourse to the enormous educational resources
(human, material and fiscal resources) that are needed for
effective supply and delivery of university education.
Therefore, education in Delta State University and by
extension, Nigeria should be planned taking into
consideration the availability and provision of the
‘enormous educational resources’ required for increasing
the supply of admission places. It is only by so doing that
a good number of the qualified applicants can be absorbed
into the university.
4. Conclusions
The ever increasing demand for university education
has remained unabated in the face of limited admission
spaces. This study traced the trend of applicants and
admissions in Delta State University for the 2013/14 –
2017/18 academic years and observed a wide worrisome
gap between the numbers of applicants and admitted
candidates during the period. The writer explored /
investigated some factors affecting the demand and supply
of university admission places to include low carrying
capacity, inadequate educational facilities/infrastructures,
insufficient funding, government admission policies, etc.
For the university sector to be able to remain relevant in
the training and development of human resources for
national development, adequate human and material
resources should be provided in the faculties of Basic
Medical Sciences, Engineering and Pharmacy to be able
to admit more applicants.
Recommendations
For the university to be able to admit more candidates,
the following recommendations are proffered:
1. Stakeholders (government, management,
philanthropists and Delta State University Alumni
Association) should work towards the expansion of
the university’s facilities and infrastructures in order
to increase the carrying capacity to enable the
institution accommodate the ever increasing number
of applicants. This expansion should equally be in the
area of attracting adequate qualified manpower
especially academics to man the programmes.
2. More of Tetfund intervention projects should be
geared towards the expansion of infrastructures and
facilities.
3. The re-introduction of Sandwich, Part-time
programme and Continuous Education Programmes
are sure strategies of giving more applicants the
opportunities to be admitted.
4. It is also recommended that e-learning programmes
should be introduced as this will give more candidates
especially the physically challenged the opportunity
to access university education.
5. The low admission figures recorded for Clinical
Medicine, Engineering and Pharmacy calls for
general concern as these are critical areas of need for
the much needed scientific and technological
development in Nigeria. Therefore, facilities in these
areas should be expanded in order to absorb many
more applicants.
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