The Nigerian government prohibits the formation of a new tertiary institution for seven years

The federal government on Wednesday placed a seven-year moratorium on the establishment of universities and other high learning institutions in the country.

The decision followed the presentation of the Minister of Education, Dr. Supi Alausa, at the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) led by President Bola Tinubu at the President’s Villa, Abuja.

However, nine new universities were approved at the meeting.

Alausa, who gave direction to the state council correspondent at the end of the meeting, said the move was to prevent the proliferation of institutions, too much resources, and overcome the decline in the quality of education in the country.

He argues that the challenges in the tertiary education system Nigeria no longer access but poor infrastructure, inadequate staffing, and reduced registration in many institutions.

The minister revealed that 199 universities received less than 100 applications through joint revenue and the Matriculation Board (Jamb) in 2024, with 34 zero applications recorded.

He regretted that 295 polytechnics and 219 education universities also posted poor registration figures last year.

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“Some Federal University operates far below capacity, with some of less than 2,000 students. At one North University, there are 1,200 staff who serve less than 800 students. This is a waste of government resources.

“If we want to improve quality and not become a global stock of laughter, the pragmatic step is to suspend the establishment of a new federal institution.

“When we took a position, there were 551 applications for private universities. Many were jammed because of inefficiency in NUC. We deactivated more than 350 applications inactive and established new guidelines that were tighter. Of the 79 active cases, nine meets criteria and approved,” Alausa said.