Nigeria's Federal Government has placed a seven-year ban on the creation of new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. This decision was made to address the issue of underutilized institutions, thinly stretched resources, and declining academic quality.
Key Reasons for the Ban
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, explained that while access to tertiary education is no longer a major problem in Nigeria, the rapid creation of new institutions has led to a number of issues:
Under-enrollment: Many existing federal institutions are operating far below their capacity. For example, some universities had fewer than 100 applicants last year, with 34 receiving zero applications. Similarly, 64 colleges of education had no applicants at all.
Wasted Resources: The proliferation of schools has spread government resources too thin. Dr. Alausa cited an instance where one northern university has 1,200 staff for fewer than 800 students, representing a significant waste of funds.
Declining Quality: The government believes that the unchecked creation of under-subscribed institutions risks producing poorly trained graduates, which could damage the international reputation of Nigerian degrees and worsen unemployment.
The new policy aims to instead focus on improving existing institutions by upgrading facilities, hiring qualified staff, and increasing their capacity.
Approved Private Institutions and Other Reforms
Despite the ban on federal institutions, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved nine new private universities. The Minister clarified that these applications had been pending for several years and had met strict evaluation criteria. A moratorium has also been placed on new private polytechnics and colleges of education to prevent further under-enrollment.
In addition to the ban, the government is also reviewing the Polytechnic Act. This review aims to allow polytechnics to award Bachelor of Technology degrees, which is intended to address the current imbalance where university education is often preferred over polytechnic education.
The seven-year freeze is seen as a way to "reset" Nigeria's tertiary education system, with the goal of prioritizing quality over quantity and ensuring the sustainable development of higher education.
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