FG Imposes Five-Year Ban on New Federal Tertiary Institutions

Nigeria will not establish any new federal universities, polytechnics, or colleges of education for the next five years, following a decision by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday.

The meeting, presided over by President Bola Tinubu, approved the moratorium as part of measures to address what the government described as duplication and overstretching of existing resources in the education sector.

Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, explained that the real challenge is no longer access to federal tertiary education but the strain caused by the creation of too many institutions.

“In our country, access to quality financial education is no longer an issue,” he said.

“What we are witnessing today is duplication of new federal tertiary institutions, a significant reduction in the current capacity of each institution, and degradation of both physical infrastructure and manpower.

If we do not act decisively, it will lead to marked declines in educational quality and undermine the international respect that Nigerian graduates command.”

Alausa highlighted Nigeria’s extensive tertiary network—72 federal universities, 108 state universities, 159 private universities, and numerous allied institutions such as polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education.

According to him, this proliferation has not matched student demand.

“For the 2024-2026 academic sessions, about 2.1 million young Nigerians applied to our tertiary institutions,” he noted.

“However, 199 universities had fewer than 99 applicants, and remarkably, 34 universities had zero candidates applying at all.

This worrying trend repeats itself in polytechnics and colleges of education too. In fact, 295 polytechnics had fewer than 99 applicants, and 219 colleges of education suffered similar fates, with 64 colleges receiving no applicants at all.”

The minister cited one striking case in the North where a federal university had fewer than 800 students but over 1,200 staff.

“This is simply not sustainable,” he stressed.

The government, he said, will now focus on upgrading infrastructure, improving manpower, and expanding the capacity of existing institutions rather than creating new ones.

Alausa commended President Tinubu’s “unwavering commitment” to educational reform.

“The president fervently believes in providing every Nigerian with the highest quality of education, comparable anywhere in the world, and his dedication has been key in advancing these reforms,” he said.

NINE NEW PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES GET APPROVAL

While placing the moratorium, the council also cleared a backlog of applications by approving nine new private universities.

“Several of these applications have been in the pipeline for over six years, with investors having already built campuses and invested billions of Naira,” Alausa explained.

“Due to inefficiencies within the NUC, approvals were delayed. We have since introduced reforms to streamline these processes, and today’s approvals are a result of clearing this backlog.”

The ministry, he added, deactivated over 350 inactive applications and tightened guidelines. Only 79 private university applications remain active, with nine now approved.

The minister emphasised that going forward, the moratorium will also apply to new private institutions unless they meet the new standards.

“If we do not act now, the level of graduate unemployment will rise, and the capital index will be affected due to the growing number of graduates without sufficient life skills to contribute meaningfully to the economy,” he warned.

“This policy is vital if we want to maintain the global respect for Nigerian education and graduates.”