**6. Conclusion**

Criteria for gaining access to university education has been broadened from the traditional UACE results to include HEAC for students initially without the requisite educational qualifications for direct entry to universities. The current admission requirements to higher education programmes is at least two principal passes for degree programmes and one principal pass and two subsidiaries for a diploma programme. Initially STEM subjects were being emphasized. The implementation of the HEAC coupled with support to the candidates such as EOP, role modeling, mentoring and constantly addressing candidates' challenges have provided the opportunity to prove the relevance of the access programme to the country. As one of the higher education entry routes which integrates STEM subjects, it needs to be embraced to increase opportunity for scholars into the higher education system especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
