The Federal Government has placed a seven-year moratorium on establishing new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, citing declining quality and overstretched resources in the tertiary education sector.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the decision after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu.
Alausa said the move aims to halt duplication, cut waste, and consolidate funding to rehabilitate infrastructure, recruit and train staff, and increase the carrying capacities of existing institutions.
> “Access is no longer our problem. The proliferation of institutions has diluted resources, leading to deteriorating infrastructure and a drop in graduate quality,” he said.
Nigeria currently has 72 federal universities, 42 polytechnics, and 28 colleges of education. Yet, in the 2024/2025 academic session, 199 universities had fewer than 100 JAMB applicants, and 34 had none. Similar trends were recorded in polytechnics and colleges of education.
Citing inefficiencies, Alausa noted a federal university with fewer than 800 students but over 1,200 staff, as well as northern institutions with under 2,000 students.
While the moratorium affects all federal institutions, the FEC approved nine new private universities from applications submitted over six years ago. The minister said similar quality-focused restrictions will soon apply to new private institutions.
Alausa reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to producing globally competitive graduates in line with President Tinubu’s education quality mandate.
