Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Congress of University Academics (CONUA) and National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), have lauded the announcement of seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. They assert that the freeze would enable the government to channel resources into upgrading facilities, hiring qualified members of staff and expanding the capacity of existing institutions, Bola Olajuwon, Assistant Editor, Damola Kola-Dare and Victoria Amadi report
Despite their disagreements, the members of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) agreed that the Federal and state governments must stop the proliferation of public tertiary institutions. They also accepted the need to fix the ones already in existence and fund them adequately.
They had contended that public tertiary institutions face various challenges, including funding constraints, infrastructure deficits and brain drain. But, despite these challenges, new universities have been established in recent years, expanding access to higher education.
The need for moratorium on new tertiary institutions
The country 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 specialised schools such as colleges of agriculture, health sciences and nursing. The tertiary unions had asserted that the institutions are poorly funded and students were not applying to attend them.
It was, therefore, not surprising that their members supported the idea when the Federal Government imposed a seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, citing the proliferation of under-utilised institutions, overstretched resources, and a drop in academic quality.
The decision was approved at last week’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The decision followed a presentation made by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.
But, FEC, however, approved nine new private universities despite the freeze.
Alausa told State House correspondents after the meeting that 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. This is a waste of government’s resources,” he stated.
According to him, 199 universities received fewer than 100 applications through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board last year, with 34 recording zero applications. He added that from the 295 polytechnics nationwide, many had fewer than 99 applicants. Also, 219 colleges of education also posted poor enrolment figures, including 64 with no applications at all.
The minister warned that unchecked proliferation of poorly subscribed institutions risked producing ill-prepared graduates, eroding the value of Nigerian degrees internationally and worsening unemployment.
Alausa also announced that the moratorium would enable the government to channel resources into upgrading facilities, hiring qualified staff and expanding the capacity of existing institutions.
“If we want to improve quality and not be a laughing stock globally, the pragmatic step is to pause the establishment of new federal institutions,” he said.
He explained that the approved nine 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).
“When we assumed office, there were 551 applications for private universities. Many had been stuck due to inefficiencies at the NUC. We deactivated over 350 dormant applications and set new, stricter guidelines. Of the 79 active cases, nine met the criteria and were approved,” Alausa said.
Is freezing a bow to tertiary institutions’ unions?
One of the issues earlier raised by the ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, was the proliferation of universities, poor welfare of lecturers and renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement among others.
The union warned the Federal Government against the proliferation of some universities in the country. It described some of the institutions, especially those being established by some state governments as “glorified secondary schools” as a result of lack of infrastructure and enabling environment for effective teaching and learning.
ASUU had often expressed worry that the intervention from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is now thinly spread on institutions that are not functioning optimally and also contended that the existing institutions are bedeviled with infrastructure decay and deficit in addition to poor attention being paid to the welfare of lecturers.
‘Fed Govt has bitten up more than it can chew’
Reacting, ASUU Chairperson, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Prof. Pius Bamidele, stressed that the Federal Government has bitten up more than it can chew, adding that the government was not yet there when talking about funding.
Also, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) Chairman, Imo State Polytechnic, Omuma Ofurum, noted that there are already enough universities in the country, citing insufficient funding and sub standardisation as the major challenges facing these institutions. He advocated the closure of sub-standard institutions, urging the government to re-deploy staff of those schools to places where they are needed.
“Sometimes, the government doesn’t fund these institutions appropriately the way they’re supposed to be. When you go to these institutions, you will see that a number of them are sub-standard in terms of facility and infrastructure and manpower requirement is not sufficient.
“Some of the heads in these schools put their people there to generate money from the budget and retire them the way they want. It is unwarranted. It is important they’re checkmated. If a university is not running of standard, they should close it. The government can only redeploy staff of those schools whose employment is confirmed,” he said.
Dr. Isaac Udoh of Abia State University (ABSU) said: “ASUU is not bothered about whether we have a thousand universities. But, have you sufficiently taken care of the ones we have? Go to public universities and see.”
CONUA to govts: address full spectrum of needs
Congress of University Academics (CONUA) President Niyi Sunmonu, PhD, urged government to, during the seven‑year period, address the full-spectrum of needs, reflecting current realities in existing universities, vis-à-vis funding, staffing, infrastructure, research support and welfare.
A seven‑year moratorium, by itself, is insufficient unless accompanied by a thorough viability evaluation of the newly created institutions, Sunmonu said.
“In the April 2025 press engagement, CONUA cautioned against the proliferation of federal universities without prioritising the existing ones through proper funding, adequate staffing and commensurate remuneration to keep workers motivated,” the CONUA President said.
It is the right step, says Adedimeji
Vice Chancellor, African School of Economics (ASE), Abuja, Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, said it is the right step in the right direction given that that about 40 or more universities, both public and private, have been established under the current administration to deepen access to education, stressing that it is time to ensure that quality isn’t compromised.
He said: “I think it is a right step in the right direction. The debate has often oscillated between providing access and maintaining quality while striking a healthy balance. Given that about 40 or more universities, both public and private, have been established under this administration to deepen access, it is time to ensure that quality isn’t compromised.
“It is a welcome development though the statement noted that those that meet the stringent conditions for approval within the period will still be considered. By and large, the step taken by the Federal Government is a laudable step.”
NANS lauds govt
National Public Relations Officer of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Samson Ajasa Adeyemi, noted that there are enough tertiary institutions in the country. Hence, he noted the new government policy is commendable.
In a chat with The Nation, he stated that the seven-year ban is not even enough, stressing that the creation of institutions doesn’t in anyway have effect on admission quota.
He said: “In Ogun State, there’s a local government, Odeda Local Government, which houses the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) and the Federal College of Education Abeokuta (FCE) Osiele. These are two federal institutions in a single local government. Same thing with Ijebu North Local Government that houses Olabisi Onabanjo University and Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic.
“If we are to look at it, you see that we have enough to the extent that we can have two tertiary institutions in a single local government in Nigeria. So, I believe we have enough. The major critical point we have to look at is the critical part of funding.”
“Even the seven years is too small to me and to some of us. But, we believe that it is the right path that we can start from. At least, let’s start from there first. So, for the next seven years, all funds should go directly to the established ones and let’s see the changes. Let’s be able to analyse the impact. By then, we’ll be able to know if actually this policy is having effect or not. But, from all indications, we believe that there should be a lot of changes if the government is serious and ready to pay critical attention to it.
“The minister said ‘quality of over quantity’ will be prioritised. This is the right time to go to pay attention to it. Most of these schools truly are underutilised. How many researches have been conducted in these schools? How many innovations have been funded? Our universities should be tech hubs. So, to me and NANS, it is the right direction to go.”
