15/08/2025
The Federal Government has imposed a seven-year moratorium on establishing new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
The decision was made during the Federal Executive Council FEC, meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said the policy aims to focus on revitalizing existing institutions. Nigeria currently has 72 federal universities, 42 polytechnics, and 28 colleges of education. Yet, in the 2024/2025 JAMB cycle, 199 universities had under 100 applicants, 34 of them had none. Similarly, 295 polytechnics and 64 colleges of education recorded fewer than 100 or zero applicants.
Alausa cited a federal university with fewer than 800 students but 1,200 staff as an example of inefficiency. He stressed the need to invest in infrastructure, qualified staff, and capacity expansion rather than building underutilized institutions.
ASUU has long criticized the uncontrolled creation of universities, calling it βreckless and excessive.β In a recent statement, ASUU President Prof. Chris Piwuna warned of an impending strike, citing government neglect and worsening conditions in public universities.
Lecturers, the union said, are forced to teach under severe hardship, lacking access to basic research tools, while shouldering rising living costs. ASUU accused the government of abandoning educators, yet expecting world-class results.