The federal government on Wednesday announced a seven-year embargo on further establishment of federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
The government cited the proliferation of under-utilised institutions, overstretched resources and a drop in academic quality as the reasons.
The decision was approved at the federal executive council meeting in the presidential villa, Abuja and chaired by President Bola Tinubu.
Addressing journalists after the weekly meeting, the minister of education, Dr. Tunji Alausa said the challenge in Nigeria’s tertiary education system was no longer access but inefficient duplication, poor infrastructure, inadequate staffing, and dwindling enrolment in many existing institutions.
The minister said access to tertiary education in Nigeria is no longer a major issue but that the duplication of federal institutions has spread resources too thinly, resulting in some universities operating far below capacity.
“Several federal universities operate far below capacity, with some having fewer than 2,000 students. In one northern university, there are 1,200 staff serving fewer than 800 students. This is a waste of government resources.
“One northern university has 1,200 staff catering to fewer than 800 students. Currently, Nigeria has 72 federal universities, 42 federal polytechnics, and 28 federal colleges of education, many of which suffer from poor enrollment: 199 universities had fewer than 100 applicants through JAMB last year, with 34 recording zero applications.
“Likewise, many polytechnics and colleges of education reported similarly low interest, with 64 colleges of education having no applicants at all,” he said.
The minister warned that unchecked proliferation of poorly subscribed institutions risk producing ill-prepared graduates, eroding the value of Nigerian degrees internationally, and worsening unemployment.
He explained that the moratorium would enable the government to channel resources into upgrading facilities, hiring qualified staff, and expanding the carrying capacity of existing institutions.
“If we want to improve quality and not be a laughing stock globally, the pragmatic step is to pause the establishment of new federal institutions,” he added.
He said the seven-year moratorium “will allow the government to refocus resources on improving existing institutions by upgrading facilities, recruiting qualified staff, and expanding their carrying capacity.”
Despite the freeze, Alausa said the FEC approved nine new private universities, which had long-pending applications that passed rigorous evaluation.
“These approvals do not affect the moratorium on federal institutions. Similarly, moratoriums are already in place for new private polytechnics and colleges of education to avoid further proliferation of under-subscribed institutions.
“President Bola Tinubu has strongly backed these reforms, aiming to deliver world-class education to Nigerians,” he said.
He said as part of the broader reforms, the government was also reviewing the Polytechnic Act to allow polytechnics to award Bachelor of Technology degrees, addressing the current imbalance where university education is preferred over polytechnic education.
