Jane Salihu
The Federal Government has asked the National Assembly to suspend the passage of bills seeking to establish new federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for seven years, citing mounting funding obligations and infrastructure deficits in existing institutions.
The appeal was contained in a November 2, 2026, memorandum from the Federal Ministry of Education to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, urging lawmakers to exercise restraint in considering proposals for additional federal tertiary institutions.
In the memo, marked FME/DUE/NASS/153/Vol.1/147 and sighted in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved the seven-year moratorium on August 13, 2025, as part of efforts to address the proliferation of public tertiary institutions, duplication of academic programmes and inadequate funding.
Alausa argued that Nigeria’s immediate education challenge was no longer simply increasing the number of tertiary institutions but strengthening existing ones through improved funding, infrastructure, manpower and modern teaching and research facilities.
He said the moratorium would enable the government to consolidate existing investments and improve the capacity and quality of institutions already established.
A major justification for the proposed freeze is the Federal Government’s outstanding financial obligations to public universities, particularly the funding commitments under the 2013–2018 Federal Government-ASUU revitalisation agreement.
According to the minister, of the ₦1.3 trillion commitment under the agreement, only ₦250 billion was released between 2013 and 2021.
He further disclosed that of the additional ₦150 billion approved in 2025 for Needs Assessment Intervention, only ₦50 billion was initially released, leaving a significant funding gap.
Alausa said the outstanding commitments raised concerns about the government’s ability to sustain additional institutions without guaranteed budgetary provisions.
He listed inadequate lecture halls, overcrowded classrooms, insufficient laboratories, shortages of qualified personnel, accommodation deficits and deteriorating facilities among the challenges confronting existing federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
The minister warned that establishing more institutions without addressing these deficiencies could spread limited resources even thinner and further undermine academic standards.
He also cited the experiences of Ekiti and Imo states, where institutional restructuring and consolidation became necessary following the establishment of multiple tertiary institutions without adequate sustainable funding arrangements.
According to him, three state-owned universities in Ekiti were consolidated into one institution, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, in 2011, while Imo State also undertook institutional reviews and integration.
He added that some state governments had approached the Federal Government to take over their universities because of difficulties sustaining them financially.
The minister noted that such situations could force future administrations to spend additional resources on mergers, restructuring or outright closure of institutions established without proper financial planning.
Beyond the funding challenges, Alausa identified competing priorities within the education sector, including infrastructure interventions by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), student financing through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), vocational and skills acquisition programmes, and allowances for academic and non-academic personnel.
He maintained that these interventions required sustained financial support and should not be undermined by the creation of additional institutions without clearly defined funding sources.
The minister also stressed that establishing a tertiary institution involved long-term financial responsibilities beyond the passage of an enabling law.
He listed land acquisition, take-off grants, infrastructure development, recruitment, equipment procurement, utilities and recurrent expenditure as obligations that would continue across successive administrations.
Alausa cautioned that institutions established without comprehensive feasibility studies, proven educational needs and credible funding arrangements could exist only on paper without the capacity to deliver quality education.
He further referenced international experiences in Australia, Finland, Japan, the United States and South Africa, where institutional mergers and consolidation have been adopted to address duplication, financial constraints and administrative inefficiencies.
According to him, such measures have helped improve governance, strengthen research capacity and promote more efficient utilisation of public resources.
The minister, however, clarified that the seven-year moratorium was not designed to permanently prevent the establishment of new tertiary institutions or deny Nigerians access to higher education.
Rather, he said it was intended to provide an opportunity to address existing institutional deficiencies, improve academic standards and ensure that any future expansion was based on demonstrable national needs and sustainable financing.
He therefore appealed to the Senate President and the leadership of the National Assembly to support the policy by exercising restraint in considering and passing bills for the establishment of additional federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education throughout the seven-year period.
Alausa maintained that the success of Nigeria’s education system should be measured by the quality of education delivered, the competence of graduates produced and the contribution of institutions to national development, rather than the number of institutions established.
