Financial burdens, housing shortages, inadequate facilities and safety gaps cut short many academic journeys.
Undergraduates facing steep tuition amid rising living costs, unreliable laboratory and internet access, long commutes from off-campus lodgings and limited counselling services often decide to quit before graduation.
Each dropout represents both personal loss and wasted institutional effort as campuses must recruit and integrate new intakes.
Below are 5 universities reporting the highest attrition in 2025, along with the key, current challenges driving students to discontinue their studies.
1. University of Lagos
The surge in accommodation and transport expenses in Lagos forces many students, especially those from outside the metropolis, to balance part-time work with full course loads.
Rent in informal hostels can exceed one hundred thousand naira per semester, and daily commute costs spiral. Unable to meet these outlays, some undergraduates opt to pause or abandon their programmes.
2. Obafemi Awolowo University
Limited on-campus housing pushes first year students into private quarters several kilometres from lecture halls. Long travel times of one to two hours each way cut into study hours and increased transport spending to as much as forty thousand naira monthly.
Faced with academic fatigue and financial strain, a notable portion of incoming classes withdraw before completing their first session.
3. Ahmadu Bello University
Departments in engineering, science and agriculture report frequent breakdowns of experimental equipment and slow internet speeds that hamper research and group projects.
Students reliant on online lectures and digital resources spend weeks waiting for repairs or bandwidth upgrades. Frustration mounts when project deadlines are missed, prompting some to drop out rather than repeat sessions.
4. University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Campus perimeters lack adequate lighting and security patrols after dusk, leading to rising incidents of petty theft and harassment along poorly lit paths. As a result, students travelling between hostels and lecture theatres after six p.m report anxiety and missed classes.
Concerned for their safety, some choose to leave and transfer to institutions with stronger security infrastructure.
5. Lagos State University
With limited access to mental-health support and academic mentoring, students encountering exam stress, course overload or personal crises find few formal outlets for help. Counselling centres operate at reduced hours, and peer-led study groups cannot fill the gap.
Without timely intervention, those struggling academically or emotionally often discontinue their studies, citing a lack of support rather than academic failure.
Tackling these issues through targeted financial aid, expanded campus housing, upgraded facilities, enhanced security measures and robust student support services will be essential to stem attrition and ensure more undergraduates complete their degrees.
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