The federal government of Nigeria has announced a seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new federal tertiary educational institutions in the country.
The development was announced on Wednesday by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, led by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday.
Naija News reports that the seven-year ban covers universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
Alausa explained that the intention is to focus on developing the quality of existing institutions and address a major decline in both infrastructure and workforce quality.
According to him, the pressing issue in Nigeria’s education sector is not about accessing federal tertiary institutions, but rather the problem of having too many institutions.
He said, “In our country, access to quality financial education is no longer an issue.
“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.”
He added that some existing tertiary institutions have no students but have to pay their workforce.
He cited a federal university with fewer than 800 students but 1,200 staff as an example of the inefficiencies and waste in the system.
The Minister added that 295 polytechnics, both public and private, also had fewer than 100 applicants, while 64 colleges of education recorded zero applicants.
“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 candidates applying through JAMB, and 34 had zero applicants,” Alausa said.
In his speech, the Minister also thanked the President for his “political will and commitment” to education.
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