FG Removes Mathematics Requirement for Arts and Humanities Admissions

The federal government has announced that students seeking admission to study arts and humanities courses in tertiary institutions will no longer be required to obtain a credit in mathematics in their Senior School Certificate Examination.

The Ministry of Education confirmed on Monday that the long-standing requirement for a credit pass in mathematics, as administered by the West African Examinations Council and the National Examinations Council, would cease to be a condition for admission into universities and polytechnics for students pursuing arts and humanities-related programmes.

The policy change represents a significant departure from previous admission requirements that mandated credit passes in both mathematics and English language for virtually all tertiary education programmes, regardless of the course of study. The decision affects thousands of prospective students who have traditionally struggled to gain admission to their preferred courses due to difficulties in obtaining the required mathematics credit.

Minister of Education Dr Tunji Alausa announced the policy adjustment as part of ongoing reforms to the nation’s education sector. The minister has been implementing various changes since assuming office, including previously reversing the 18-year minimum age requirement for tertiary institution admissions.

The new policy means that students with strong academic records in arts and humanities subjects but who have not achieved a credit pass in mathematics will now be eligible for admission to study courses in their preferred field. This change is expected to benefit numerous candidates who have repeatedly sat examinations in attempts to secure the mathematics credit required under the previous system.

Education stakeholders have expressed mixed reactions to the announcement. Some observers have welcomed the decision as a pragmatic recognition that advanced mathematical knowledge may not be essential for success in certain arts and humanities disciplines. They argue that the previous blanket requirement created unnecessary barriers for students whose aptitudes and career aspirations lay in non-mathematical fields.

However, others have expressed concern that removing the mathematics requirement might diminish the overall academic standards expected of university entrants. Critics of the policy change suggest that basic mathematical literacy represents a fundamental skill that all educated individuals should possess, regardless of their chosen field of specialisation.

The policy adjustment aligns with similar reforms in various education systems worldwide, where admission requirements are increasingly being tailored to the specific demands of different academic disciplines rather than maintaining uniform requirements across all fields of study.

English language is expected to remain a compulsory requirement for all prospective tertiary institution students, maintaining its status as the fundamental communication skill necessary for academic success in Nigerian educational institutions where English serves as the medium of instruction.

The announcement comes at a time when the federal government has been implementing various education sector reforms aimed at improving access to tertiary education whilst maintaining academic standards. These reforms have included adjustments to admission age requirements, efforts to expand tertiary institution capacity, and initiatives to modernise curricula across various disciplines.

The Ministry of Education has not yet announced whether similar adjustments might be made to requirements for other subject areas. Science and technology courses are expected to continue requiring mathematics as an essential foundation for the mathematical and analytical skills necessary for success in those disciplines.

Universities and polytechnics offering arts and humanities programmes will now need to adjust their admission criteria to reflect the new policy. Institutions typically publish detailed admission requirements specifying the O’level subject combinations and credit requirements for each programme, and these documents will require updating to incorporate the policy change.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, which coordinates admissions to tertiary institutions nationwide, will likely issue guidelines to institutions regarding implementation of the new policy. The board conducts annual policy meetings with education stakeholders to determine modalities for admissions, and the latest policy change is expected to feature in these deliberations.

The decision may have implications for secondary school students currently planning their subject selections for certificate examinations. Students considering arts and humanities courses at tertiary level will no longer face pressure to achieve mathematics credits, potentially allowing them to focus their efforts on subjects more directly relevant to their intended field of study.

However, education experts caution that students should still strive to develop basic mathematical competence, as numerical literacy remains valuable in many aspects of modern life and work, even in predominantly non-mathematical fields. The policy change removes mathematics as a formal admission barrier but does not suggest that numerical skills are entirely irrelevant to arts and humanities students.

The Ministry of Education has indicated that the policy forms part of broader efforts to align admission requirements more closely with the actual competencies required for success in different academic disciplines. This approach recognises that whilst certain foundational skills remain universally important, the specific subject knowledge required can vary significantly across different fields of study.

Implementation of the new policy is expected to commence with immediate effect, potentially benefiting candidates seeking admission for the current academic session as well as future intakes. Institutions will need to communicate the changes clearly to prospective students to ensure that applicants understand the revised requirements.

The announcement represents one of several education policy adjustments introduced by the current administration as it seeks to reform Nigeria’s education sector. These changes have generated considerable public discussion about the appropriate balance between maintaining rigorous academic standards and ensuring that admission requirements do not create artificial barriers to students’ educational aspirations.

As tertiary institutions begin implementing the new policy, attention will focus on how the change affects admission patterns and whether it successfully enables more students to pursue their chosen courses without compromising the quality of education delivered in arts and humanities programmes across Nigerian universities and polytechnics.