The federal executive council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday has approved a five-year ban on the establishment of new federal tertiary educational institutions across the country.
The moratorium covers universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
Tunji Alausa, minister of education, explained the context and necessity of the moratorium, noting that the current challenge in Nigeria’s education sector is no longer about access to federal tertiary education but about addressing the duplication of institutions which has led to significant deterioration in both infrastructure and manpower.
“In our country, access to quality financial education is no longer an issue,” the minister said.
“What we are witnessing today is duplication of new federal tertiary institutions, a significant reduction in the current capacity of each institution, and degradation of both physical infrastructure and manpower.
“If we do not act decisively, it will lead to marked declines in educational quality and undermine the international respect that Nigerian graduates command.”
Alausa outlined the scale of Nigeria’s tertiary education landscape, noting the vast number of institutions.
He said there are 72 federal universities, 108 state universities and 159 private universities, and highlighted similar patterns within polytechnics and colleges of education.
The minister also cited allied institutions such as monotechnics, colleges of agriculture, health sciences, nursing, and innovation and enterprise institutions.
