FG Hits Pause Button: No New Federal Tertiary Schools for Seven Years

By: Oluwaseun M. Lawal

Here’s the scoop. The Federal Government just slammed the brakes on creating new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education—for seven whole years. Why? Because there are just too many schools with barely any students, stretched resources, and falling academic standards. It’s like building more houses when half the ones standing are empty.

This decision came out of Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, with President Bola Tinubu leading the charge at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The Education Minister, Dr. Tunji Alausa, laid it all out. He said the problem isn’t about access anymore. It’s about too many schools doing the same thing badly. Some universities have fewer than 2,000 students. One northern university? 1,200 staff for less than 800 students. Sounds crazy, right? A total waste.

And it’s not just universities. Last year, 199 universities got fewer than 100 applications through JAMB. Thirty-four didn’t get a single one. Polytechnics and colleges of education are in the same boat—many with almost no applicants at all.

Alausa warned that if this keeps up, Nigeria’s degrees might lose their value worldwide, and unemployment will only get worse. So, the moratorium is meant to give the government time to fix what’s already there—upgrade facilities, hire better staff, and make sure schools can handle more students.

But wait, there’s a twist. The council still approved nine new universities. These aren’t random new schools, though. They’re private universities that had been stuck in limbo for years, finally cleared after strict checks by the National Universities Commission.

Alausa gave credit to President Tinubu for backing this move, calling it a “reset button” for Nigerian education. The goal? Quality over quantity. Because, honestly, who wants to be the joke of the academic world? Not Nigeria.