Tinubu government suspends establishment of new tertiary institutions for 7 years

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has suspended the establishment o tertiary institutions for seven years, citing declining quality and infrastructure in the nation’s education sector.

The suspension was disclosed by the Minister of Educaion, Dr Tunji Alausa at the State House, Abua on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council meeting, saying that establishment of Universities, Polytechnics and Monotechnics have been put on hold for now.

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The Federal Executive meeting was presided by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday at the presidential villa, Abuja.
The Education Minister maintained that the moratorium was aimed at averting duplication and waste of resources, while government would consolidate on existing ones to restore quality education for Nigerians.

Alausa said access to education was no longer a challenge to Nigerians, but the proliferation of new tertiary institutions were overstretching the Federal Government purse.

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He warned that without urgent action, the unemployment rate would worsen as many graduates leave school without life skills.

“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.

He revealed that 295 polytechnics, both public and private, also had fewer than 100 applicants, while 64 colleges of education recorded zero applicants.

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 stressed that the decision will enable government to focus on rehabilitating infrastructure, recruiting and training staff, and increasing the carrying capacities of existing institutions.

He noted that some federal universities in certain northern states currently have fewer than 2,000 students.

Alausa said the moratorium will ensure that Nigeria’s graduates maintain competitiveness and respect globally, aligning with President Bola Tinubu’s mandate for the highest quality education comparable to international standards.

He thanked the President for his “political will and commitment” to education.

The FEC also approved the establishment of nine new private universities.

Addressing possible contradictions, Alausa explained that the approvals were for pre-existing applications, some for over six years old which had been delayed due to inefficiencies at the National Universities Commission (NUC).

He disclosed that when he assumed office alongside the Minister of State for Education, there were 551 pending private university applications, many of which were inactive, adding that new guidelines reduced active applications to 79, out of which nine met all requirements and were approved.

Alausa added that similar moratoriums will soon apply to the establishment of private universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to ensure quality is not sacrificed for expansion.

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