The Federal Government has approved a seven-year suspension on establishing new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to address overstretched resources, poor enrolment, and declining academic quality.
The decision, endorsed at today’s Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu, followed a presentation by the Minister for Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, who noted that several federal institutions operate far below capacity, with some universities recording fewer than 2,000 students and some colleges of education getting no applications at all.
He warned that unchecked proliferation of under-utilised institutions could worsen unemployment and erode the value of Nigerian degrees.
Dr. Alausa explained that the pause would allow the government to upgrade infrastructure, recruit qualified staff, and boost the capacity of existing institutions.
He said the moratorium also applies to new private polytechnics and colleges of education, although nine new private universities were approved after meeting stringent evaluation criteria, some pending for up to six years.
The minister described the policy as a “reset button” for tertiary education, adding that President Tinubu had given a clear mandate to deliver education standards comparable to the best in the world.