A seven-year ban on the creation of new federal tertiary institutions nationwide has been approved by the Federal Executive Council in an effort to reduce duplication and raise the caliber of already-existing ones.
In a briefing to reporters following Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Tunji Alausa, the country’s minister of education, declared that tertiary education access was no longer a problem.
“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, he said, “This is a waste of government resources.”
Duplication of new federal tertiary institutions and a sharp decline in the existing capacity of universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and tertiary institutions, he said, were widespread.
In order to ensure efficiency, the ministry would review and revise the rules for approving new private universities, according to the memo that was approved at the council meeting.
Additionally, he mentioned that it was noted that many institutions had fewer than 100 applicants for admission in the most recent Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) admissions exercise.
Alausa cautioned that if poorly subscribed institutions continued to grow, there was a chance that the graduates would be ill-prepared, Nigerian degrees would lose value abroad, and unemployment would worsen.
He clarified that the moratorium would allow the government to allocate funds for facility improvements, recruiting skilled personnel, and increasing the carrying capacity of already-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 continued.
