The population of Nigeria is 140 million according to the last 2006
census. Only 75 Universities are available to cater to this
population with one University for 1,866,000 people. The inability
of the available Universities in Nigeria to cope with the high
demand for University education has put much pressure on
University admissions. In order to satisfy some interests the
Government of Nigeria adopted such admission policies as the
quota system, catchment areas, backwardness factor, and
discriminatory fees. Following the observed fall in the standards of
University education in Nigeria it is speculated that the admission
policies are responsible for the situation. To confirm this an
opinion survey involving 384 respondents sampled from eight (8)
Universities in the South-South zone of Nigeria was conducted. An
instrument known as ‘Admission Policies and Effect on University
Education Quality (APEUEQ)’ was used for gathering data after
validation. The correlation coefficient reliability of the instrument
was found to be 0.73. The chi-square data analysis method was
applied. The finding showed that all the parameters of interest have
contributed to the reduction of the quality of University education
in Nigeria. The paper recommended a complete review of the
admission policies and the establishment of more universities to
meet the increasing demand for university education.