The Federal Executive Council (FEC), chaired by President Bola Tinubu, has approved a five-year moratorium on establishing new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to curb duplication and inefficiencies in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
Minister of Education Tunji Alausa said access is no longer the main challenge but rather the proliferation of institutions with low enrolment and inadequate resources. “What we are witnessing today is duplication… degradation of both physical infrastructure and manpower,” he said.
He noted that Nigeria has 72 federal, 108 state, and 159 private universities, alongside hundreds of polytechnics and colleges, yet many operate far below capacity. Between 2024 and 2026, 199 universities had fewer than 99 applicants, 34 had none, while similar patterns emerged in 295 polytechnics and 219 colleges of education.
Alausa cited a case where a federal university had under 800 students but over 1,200 staff. “This is simply not sustainable,” he stressed. The ban will allow government to redirect resources toward upgrading existing institutions’ infrastructure, manpower, and capacity.
He added that the moratorium also applies to new private tertiary institutions, except those meeting updated standards. This week, nine long-pending private university applications were approved after clearing a backlog and deactivating over 350 inactive requests.
“If we do not act now, graduate unemployment will rise… This policy is vital if we want to maintain the global respect for Nigerian education and graduates,” Alausa warned.
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