From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Federal Government has reconfirmed that it will strictly abide by the established criteria for admission into 110 Federal Government Colleges (FGCs) otherwise known as Unity Schools.
It said that 60 per cent of the admission would be based on national merit, 30 per cent would be on equality of states while 10 per cent will be on exigency.
A statement from Federal Ministry of Education indicated that the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, disclosed the information at the meeting of the Principals of the110 Unity Colleges in Benin, which marks the commencement of the admission process into Unity Colleges.
Adamu who was represented by Hajia Binta Abdulkadir, the Director, Senior Secondary Education in the Ministry, directed that the admission process must be guided by the principles of fairness, equity and good conscience.
He said: “If we are to produce responsible citizens, we must stick to the rules in order to make the right choices of qualified candidates as a foundation for future academic excellence.”
The Minister directed that every part of the country should be given a sense of belonging in the admission exercise, and the process should reflect the ideals of the founding fathers of Unity Colleges as centres of academic excellence and models for states and private schools as well as instruments for national integration and unity.
He emphasized that candidates who applied for admission from outside of their immediate communities should be given priority in the admission process.
The Chairperson of Principals of Federal Unity Colleges who is also the Principal of Queens’ College, Lagos, Dr. Tokunbo Yakubu-Oyinloye, promised that directive on merit and equality of states would be followed strictly so as to get the best candidates for the nation’s Unity Colleges.