The federal government has placed a six-year moratorium on the creation of new universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to ensure the sustainability of existing institutions.
The decision was made during Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, explained that the freeze is meant to strengthen standards and support the financial stability of mostly private institutions.
“Access to tertiary education remains a challenge. With the number of institutions we currently have, we must ensure private schools can operate sustainably,” he said.
Alausa cited statistics from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), revealing that while over 2.3 million candidates applied for university admission last year, less than 228,000 were admitted to public universities.
In a related development, FEC restored the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-formal Education (NMEC) to full independent status. According to Alausa, this follows the commission chairman’s proposal to reach more than 50 million young adults over the next two to three years and equip them with digital literacy skills.
“Currently, around 56 million Nigerians are illiterate. We cannot continue to have such a high number of citizens without basic education,” he said, adding that NMEC would expand outreach through radio, television, community learning centres, and public advocacy programs, particularly in rural areas.
The government said these steps aim to enhance quality of education and tackle the country’s literacy challenges.
Nigerian govt halts creation of new tertiary institutions for six years
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