FG slams 7-year ban on establishment of new tertiary institutions

The Federal Government has approved a seven-year ban on the establishment of new federal tertiary institutions across the country.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC), chaired by President Bola Tinubu, approved the ban during a meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday, August 13, 2025.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this to State House correspondents after the meeting.

‎Alausa explained that the ban applies to all federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.

Alausa added that the decision aims to address systemic decay caused by unregulated expansion.

The minister said: What we are witnessing today is duplication of new federal tertiary institutions, a significant reduction in the current capacity of each institution, and degradation of both physical infrastructure and manpower.

“If we do not act decisively, it will lead to marked declines in educational quality and undermine the international respect that Nigerian graduates command.

OAU student commits suicide over exam results

“We are doing this to further halt decays in tertiary institutions, which may in future affect the quality of education and consequently cause unemployment of graduates from some of these institutions.”

‎Alausa noted that Nigeria currently has 72 federal universities, 108 state universities, and 159 private universities, with similar trends in polytechnics and colleges of education.

‎He pointed to a growing mismatch between the number of institutions and available student enrollment.

‎The minister cited a northern university with fewer than 800 students but over 1,200 staff, calling it unsustainable.

‎Alausa described the moratorium as a bold corrective measure by the Tinubu administration.

‎Alausa said the government would now focus on upgrading existing institutions, improving infrastructure, boosting manpower, and increasing capacity.

“We need to improve the quality of our education system and increase the carrying capacity of our current institutions so that Nigerian graduates can maintain and enhance the respect they enjoy globally,” he added.

Alausa also announced that the FEC approved 9 new private universities out of the 79 active requests pending applications.

He stated: “Several of these applications have been in the pipeline for over six years, with investors having already built campuses and invested billions of naira.

“Due to inefficiencies within the NUC, approvals were delayed. We have since introduced reforms to streamline these processes, and today’s approvals are a result of clearing this backlog.”

The Star