FG Announces 7-Year Ban on New Federal Tertiary Institutions

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has authorised a seven-year suspension on the creation of new federal tertiary institutions.

Dr Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, disclosed the approval following Wednesday’s FEC meeting, chaired by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

He clarified that the restriction will apply to all federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.

Alausa explained that the decision was intended to tackle long-standing issues resulting from uncontrolled expansion.

“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.”

“We are doing this to further halt decays in tertiary institutions, which may in future affect the quality of education and consequently cause unemployment of graduates from some of these institutions.”

Alausa highlighted that Nigeria currently hosts 72 federal universities, 108 state universities, and 159 private universities, alongside similar numbers of polytechnics and colleges of education.

He pointed out the increasing disparity between the number of institutions and the volume of student enrolment.

He referred to one university in the North with fewer than 800 students but employing over 1,200 staff members, calling the situation unsustainable.

The minister characterised the moratorium as a decisive reform measure by the Tinubu-led government.

He stated that the administration will now prioritise the development of existing institutions by upgrading infrastructure, increasing staffing, and expanding institutional capacity.

“We need to improve the quality of our education system and increase the carrying capacity of our current institutions so that Nigerian graduates can maintain and enhance the respect they enjoy globally.”

However, the minister also announced that the council has approved nine new private universities from among 79 active pending applications.

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