ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research work was to investigate on the prospects and challenges of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Calabar metropolis. It also examined the perception of stakeholders on the new system of admitting candidates into higher institution of learning.

The researcher used three tertiary institutions in Calabar metropolis, The institutions are University of Calabar, Cross river State Polytechnic and Cross river State College of Education. The study used structured questionnaire as research instrument in which 50 students were randomly selected from each tertiary institution, giving a total of 200 respondents. The researcher formulated four research questions and they were analyzed using frequency count and percentage method.

Based on the results of the findings, it was discovered that introduction of UTME increased students’ access to gaining admission into tertiary institutions.