FEC Approves Five-Year Ban on New Federal Tertiary Institutions

T The Federal Executive Council (FEC), chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday, approved a five-year moratorium on the establishment of new federal tertiary educational institutions across the country.

The ban covers universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, and is aimed at addressing duplication and inefficiencies in Nigeria’s higher education system.

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, explained that the current challenge in Nigeria’s tertiary sector is no longer access, but the unchecked proliferation of institutions that has led to significant deterioration in infrastructure and manpower.

“In our country, access to quality tertiary education is no longer an issue,” Alausa 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 the sector, noting that Nigeria currently has 72 federal universities, 108 state universities, and 159 private universities. There are also numerous polytechnics, colleges of education, monotechnics, and specialised institutions in agriculture, health sciences, nursing, and innovation.

The minister warned that this expansion has outpaced both student demand and available resources. For the 2024–2026 academic sessions, about 2.1 million students applied to tertiary institutions, yet 199 universities received fewer than 99 applicants each, and 34 universities recorded no applications at all.

Similar patterns emerged in other sectors: 295 polytechnics had fewer than 99 applicants, while 219 colleges of education saw the same fate, including 64 with zero applicants.

Describing this as “a waste of resources,” Alausa cited a northern federal university with fewer than 800 students but over 1,200 staff members. “This is simply not sustainable,” he stressed.

According to the minister, the moratorium will allow the government to channel resources into upgrading existing institutions, improving infrastructure, enhancing manpower, and increasing the carrying capacity of current universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.

“We need to improve the quality of our education system and increase the carrying capacity of our current institutions so that Nigerian graduates can maintain and enhance the respect they enjoy globally,” he said.

Alausa commended President Tinubu for his political will in pushing the reforms. “The president fervently believes in providing every Nigerian with the highest quality of education, comparable anywhere in the world, and his dedication has been key in advancing these reforms,” he added.