By Adesina Wahab 

As admission seekers are writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, about 1.4 million out of the 2.1 million candidates may not secure admission into any of the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the country.

This is because the carriage capacity of the institutions combined is about 600,000 and the nasty experience has been a yearly occurrence.

In order to solve the problem, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, at a function recently, urged tertiary institutions in the country to embrace blended learning and make necessary investment in information and communication technology to make the process seamless.

It is in this regard that Miva Open University, a pioneering institution in digital education, launched its flagship study centre in Lagos. Its bold mission is to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to close Nigeria’s yawning university admission gap.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Sim Shagaya, Chancellor of Miva Open University and Group CEO of uLesson, said the school is deploying a blended learning model as a perfect response to the urgent need for smart learning for all without pedestrian limitations.

According to him: “Blended learning or hybrid learning, is an approach to education that combines online educational materials and opportunities for online interaction with traditional place-based classroom methods.”

“In the last Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, 2.02 million Nigerians sat the exams. Typically, about 1.5 million qualify for university admission. But there are fewer than 600,000 available slots. That leaves roughly 900,000 qualified students without access to higher education every year,” Mr Shagaya said.

To bridge the gap using emerging technology, the chancellor said Miva’s strategy is centred on an AI-powered teaching engine called MIND.

This platform, he said, offers a personalised learning experience designed to replicate and potentially exceed the quality of traditional classroom teaching.

“With this backdrop, MIND aims to scale education delivery without compromising quality. The AI adapts to each student’s learning style, tracks progress, and creates a tailored educational journey. It’s like having millions of personalised teachers. Human faculty are still present, but the AI enables quality at scale, and at a lower cost,” he further explained.

Physical hubs for digital university

While Miva is fundamentally a tech-driven open university, it integrates physical touchpoints, a blended learning model combining digital delivery with real-world infrastructure.

According to Professor Tayo Arulogun, the Vice-Chancellor of Miva, this hybrid approach addresses both cultural expectations and infrastructural realities in Nigeria.

“The National Universities Commission (NUC) recommends blended learning, not just online. So, we are providing physical centres where students can interact, access electricity, internet, labs, and other support systems,” Arulogun said.

While he described deployment of blended learning as the first of its kind in Africa, he said the newly opened Lagos Study Centre is the first of many planned for major Nigerian cities, with more compact community centres slated for all the 774 local government areas across the country.

“If you’re in Lagos or Abuja, you get a flagship centre. But if you’re in Mubi or Damaturu, you’ll still have access to internet and power, enabling full participation in our programmes,” said Shagaya.

He added that Miva University aims to dispel the perception that open university learning lacks real-world application by ensuring that students get hands-on learning, with facilities like computer-based testing (CBT) centres and virtual labs.

“We want students to get an experience close to what they would get in a conventional university — labs, physical libraries, even face-to-face interaction with faculty,” Arulogun added.

Ambitious enrolment targets

Since securing its NUC licence in May 2023, Miva has rapidly scaled up both infrastructure and student enrolment. According to Oladipo Olugbemi, Chief People Officer, enrolment grew from just over 500 students in its first cohort to more than 5,000 by the end of 2024. Projections indicate over 17,000 students by the end of 2025, with a target of surpassing 100,000 by 2027.

“Our goal is to eventually enrol one million students within a decade. This is achievable with technology and our scalable model,” said Olugbemi.

According to him, affordability is another cornerstone of Miva’s approach, with undergraduate tuition ranging between N300,000 and N350,000 per year, and postgraduate courses like Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) priced under N1 million.

“All courses are approved by the NUC, including new additions such as Master’s in Public Health and Information Technology,” he said.

Vanguard News