FG Bans Establishment of Tertiary Institutions for Seven Years
The Federal Government has announced a seven-year freeze on creating new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. This is to focus on improving existing schools, facilities, and staffing. Citizens are encouraged to read details for clarity on the policy and its goals.
On Wednesday, the Federal Government hit the brakes. No more new federal universities, polytechnics, or colleges of education for the next seven years. The announcement came from the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa, after a Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
The move, he said, is not about locking doors to higher learning. Rather, it is about slowing a rush that has spread resources so thin that some schools are shadows of what they should be. One northern university, for example, has 1,200 staff looking after fewer than 800 students. That’s like running a stadium with a crowd smaller than the team’s bench.
Why the pause
Nigeria already counts:
- 72 federal universities
- 42 federal polytechnics
- 28 federal colleges of education
Yet many of these sit underused. Last year, 199 universities had fewer than 100 applicants through JAMB, and 34 had none at all. Polytechnics and colleges fared no better, with 64 colleges of education recording zero interest. Some schools are simply not pulling their weight.
Dr Alausa explained that this freeze will help the government:
- Fix broken facilities
- Recruit more qualified staff
- Expand the capacity of existing institutions
He stressed that Nigeria’s graduates still enjoy respect abroad, and the aim is to keep it that way. Pushing ahead with half-empty, underfunded schools risks producing graduates who are ill-prepared for the real world — and that, he warned, feeds unemployment.
Exceptions and side moves
The ban covers federal institutions, but during the same meeting, nine private universities got the green light. These approvals were from old applications that had already passed a long evaluation process. The minister made it clear this doesn’t break the freeze on new federal schools. The same pause is already in place for private polytechnics and colleges of education to avoid more empty classrooms.
Another reform in the works is a review of the Polytechnic Act. If it passes, polytechnics could start awarding Bachelor of Technology degrees. This is meant to tackle the imbalance where many students favour universities over polytechnics.
The bigger picture
The government says the seven-year pause is like hitting the reset button. Quality over quantity. Strength before size. And if all goes to plan, Nigeria’s higher education will grow stronger roots instead of just more branches. As some would say, better to fix the house you have before you start building another one.
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