The federal government has imposed a seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. The government’s decision was informed by the proliferation of underutilized institutions, overstretched resources, and a decline in academic quality. The decision was approved during the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, following a presentation by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa. According to the minister, the moratorium extends to the establishment of new private polytechnics and colleges of education to prevent further under-enrolment. On the same day, the FEC ironically approved nine new universities despite the freeze. The government 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 (NUC). Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, 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.“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.
The minister noted that 199 universities received fewer than 100 applications through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board last year, with 34 recording zero applications. Out 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. According to the minister, there were 551 applications for private universities before he resumed office. Many had been stuck due to inefficiencies at the NUC. The ministry deactivated over 350 dormant applications and set new, stricter guidelines. Of the 79 active cases, nine met the criteria and were approved. He explained that the moratorium would enable the government to channel resources into upgrading facilities, hiring qualified staff, and expanding the carrying capacity of existing institutions. Nigeria currently has 72 federal universities, 42 federal polytechnics, and 28 federal colleges of education, in addition to hundreds of state-owned and private tertiary institutions, as well as specialized schools such as colleges of agriculture, health sciences, and nursing.
The ban on the establishment of more tertiary institutions is a welcome development because it is long overdue. The existing universities should be well-maintained to ensure they operate in line with global best practices. Before now, it looked like the establishment of new universities was a political practice, a kind of patronage to political loyalists. These new universities were not well monitored to ensure professionalism and excellence. Many of them lack adequate funding. Therefore, they do not have facilities to encourage learning. However, education is on the concurrent legislative list, where all the tiers of government have some level of control and influence. Nevertheless, we urge state governments to observe the moratorium and ensure that their state varsities and other tertiary institutions are adequately staffed and funded. The established of these institutions should not be politicized. The establishment of varsities should not be seen as a business with high return on investment.
While the moratorium is a commendable government policy, its implementation is very important. There must not be any reason to establish any more universities, no matter the circumstances. The federal and state governments should focus on existing tertiary institutions in their domains, to adequately fund them and provide the required world-class education of international standard. It is sad that some federal and state-owned tertiary institutions are glorified secondary schools without basic facilities for learning. Some tertiary institutions that have poor enrollment should be merged with bigger ones with the required facilities to offer good education. If some institutions did not record any enrollment last year, there is no justifiable reason for such institutions to continue to exist. They should be merged with bigger, more accomplished institutions. That way, many students will be exposed to quality education, and the government will cut costs since these institutions are unproductive. The existence of these poor tertiary institutions has accounted for the production of poor quality graduates. This has been a major challenge to the country’s workforce.
The federal government should take education seriously to improve the quality of graduates from our tertiary institutions. Although Nigeria is always referred to as the giant of Africa, that accolade does not reflect in the country’s education sector. While South Africa has about fifteen universities in the top 50 universities in Africa, Nigeria has only five. Remuneration of lecturers is also important. Hitherto, the establishment of new universities has provided job opportunities for lecturers. But with the new moratorium, teaching job opportunities will be few. Therefore, the government should accommodate new academics and also ensure that they are well remunerated.
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