From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Federal Government has imposed a seven-year ban on the creation of new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education across the country.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the decision on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu.
Alausa said the moratorium, which covers all categories of federal tertiary institutions, is aimed at curbing duplication, halting waste, and consolidating resources to upgrade existing facilities and manpower.
He warned that the proliferation of new institutions has stretched resources thin, resulting in deteriorating infrastructure and declining graduate quality.
“Today, we have 72 public federal universities, 42 federal polytechnics, and 28 federal colleges of education, alongside hundreds of state and private institutions.
“Yet, in the 2024/2025 academic session, 199 universities had fewer than 100 JAMB applicants, and 34 had none at all,” he said.
According to him, 295 polytechnics, public and private, had fewer than 100 applicants, while 64 colleges of education recorded zero interest. He cited a federal university with fewer than 800 students but 1,200 staff as an example of inefficiency.
The minister added that some federal universities in parts of northern Nigeria have fewer than 2,000 students.
The moratorium, he said, will allow government to rehabilitate infrastructure, recruit and train staff, and expand the carrying capacities of existing schools.
He stressed that the policy is designed to safeguard the global competitiveness of Nigerian graduates in line with President Tinubu’s mandate for high-quality education that meets international standards.
Meanwhile, the FEC approved the establishment of nine new private universities.
Responding to concerns over the seeming contradiction, Alausa explained that the approvals were for long-standing applications, some over six years old, delayed by inefficiencies at the National Universities Commission (NUC).
He revealed that on assuming office with the Minister of State for Education, there were 551 pending private university applications. New guidelines reduced active applications to 79, out of which nine met all requirements and were approved.
Alausa said similar moratoriums will soon apply to the creation of private universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to ensure quality is not sacrificed for expansion.
