The Federal Government of Nigeria (FG) has announced its decision to halt the establishment of new higher institutions, so as to improve the existing ones.
The minister of education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa made this known during a press briefing after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, which was presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Alausa said there are some universities and other institutions of learning that have more members of staff than students.
The minister said the decision will enable the government to improve the standard of education in Nigeria and improve its facilities.
“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,” Alausa said.
“Likewise, many polytechnics and colleges of education reported similarly low interest, with 64 colleges of education having no applicants at all.
“We are doing this to further halt decays in tertiary institutions which may in the future affect the quality of education and consequently cause unemployment of graduates from some of these institutions.
“The moratorium will allow the government to refocus resources on improving existing institutions by upgrading facilities, recruiting qualified staff, and expanding their carrying capacity.”
Alausa said the decision will not affect some newly approved universities and higher institutions of learning and the president is determined to turn around the fortunes of the education sector.
“Despite this freeze, the Federal Executive Council approved nine new private universities, which had long-pending applications that passed rigorous evaluation,” he continued.
“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.”
Nigeria, under the administration of President Tinubu earmarked 7.08% of its total budget for 2025 to education in February.
