Rationalise needless tertiary institutions

The recent decision by the federal government to impose a seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the country has been widely commended by stakeholders. Citing the proliferation of underutilised institutions, overstretched resources, and a drop in academic quality as some of the reasons that informed its […]

The recent decision by the federal government to impose a seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the country has been widely commended by stakeholders. Citing the proliferation of underutilised institutions, overstretched resources, and a drop in academic quality as some of the reasons that informed its decision, the federal government on August 13, 2025 at a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja approved the moratorium. This followed a presentation by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa.

Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, Dr Alausa said the challenge in Nigeria’s tertiary education system was no longer access but inefficient duplication, poor infrastructure, inadequate staffing, and dwindling enrolment in many existing institutions. He said several federal universities operate far below capacity, with some having fewer than 2,000 students. “In one northern university, there are 1,200 staff serving fewer than 800 students. This is a waste of government resources,” he stated.

The minister also noted that 199 universities, last year, received fewer than 100 applications through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), with 34 recording zero applications. Of the 295 polytechnics nationwide, he said, many had fewer than 99 applicants, while 219 colleges of education also posted poor enrolment figures, including 64 with no applications at all. Alausa observed that unchecked proliferation of poorly subscribed institutions risked producing ill-prepared graduates, which could globally erode the value of Nigerian degrees and also worsen unemployment in the country.

Defending the moratorium, Dr Alausa explained that the measure would help government to channel resources to upgrading facilities, hiring qualified staff, and expanding the carrying capacity of existing institutions. “If we want to improve quality and not be a laughing stock globally, the pragmatic step is to pause the establishment of new federal institutions,” he said.

However, the minister confirmed that FEC had approved nine new universities at the FEC meeting. He clarified that the approved universities were private institutions whose applications had been pending for up to six years and had undergone full evaluation by the National Universities Commission; adding that billions of naira had already been invested in infrastructure for the approved institutions.

Meanwhile, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has faulted the approval of new private universities in spite of the seven-year ban placed by government on the establishment of new tertiary institutions. In a statement signed by its President, Christopher Piwuna, questioned the rationale for the move, saying access to university education in Nigeria was no longer a challenge. Piwuna lamented what it described as the “scandalous proliferation” of universities; asking further that, “If we agree that access is no longer an issue, why is the NUC giving more licences to private universities?”

By the latest count, Nigeria currently has 72 federal universities, 108 state universities, and 159 private universities. This is in addition to 42 federal polytechnics, 28 federal colleges of education as well as several state polytechnics, colleges of education, and specialised institutions that include colleges of agriculture, health sciences, and nursing.

The country’s current statistics of 339 universities as the total number of existing public and private universities in addition to hundreds of other tertiary institutions is reasonable enough to grant sufficient access to higher education. Nonetheless, sufficient access without quality makes the access pointless.

Equally unacceptable is the decision that allows the issuance of licenses to private universities to continue. This is simply a mockery of the moratorium because the undersubscription mentioned by the minister of education largely affects private institutions. Dr Alausa had revealed that over 30 universities had zero subscriptions for admission. While Daily Trust acknowledges the right of private individuals to establish universities, proliferation must be controlled if only to ensure quality in the products of Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

Besides, the needless establishment of higher institutions by both federal and state governments had continued to exert pressure on the resources, which could have been used to guarantee higher standards where the respective government had fewer institutions to manage. Spreading scarce resources across undersubscribed institutions is not only worthless but also wasteful.

While we support the federal government decision on the moratorium, we call on it and the state governments to rationalise existing tertiary institutions by converting all the undersubscribed universities and other institutions that operate below capacity into campuses of the functional ones. This would reduce the cost of running the institutions under their current status as there would be fewer vice-chancellors, provosts, rectors, and deans whose emoluments and other fringe benefits that would have, otherwise, remained heavy burden on their respective resources could be channelled to improve and expand existing facilities when they are fewer.

The country must stop politicising higher education if only it desires to remain relevant in the global ranking of tertiary institutions. It’s time to stop establishing mushroom universities that the government has no plans to develop. The ridiculous fashion of establishing tertiary institutions that would not be catered is a trend that seeks to devalue Nigerian universities and the degrees they award.