FG seeks seven-year ban on establishing new federal universities, polytechnics

…Alausa tells Senate to stop approving establishment bills, cites NN1.3trn ASUU revitalisation debt, infrastructure deficits

By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

The Federal Government has moved to halt the establishment of new federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for seven years, warning that Nigeria risks expanding its tertiary education system at the expense of academic quality and the survival of existing institutions.

The government said it could no longer afford to spread scarce resources across an increasing number of institutions while existing federal tertiary institutions grapple with severe funding shortages, decaying infrastructure, inadequate manpower and overcrowded classrooms.

Consequently, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has appealed to the Senate and other members of the National Assembly to stop considering and passing bills seeking to establish additional federal tertiary institutions during the seven-year moratorium.

The appeal was contained in a November 2, 2026, memo addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and copied to Senate Majority Leader Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele.

In the memo, marked FME/DUE/NASS/153/Vol.1/147 and sighted in Abuja on Friday, Alausa disclosed that the Federal Executive Council had approved the seven-year moratorium at its August 13, 2025, meeting as part of efforts to address the proliferation of public tertiary institutions, duplication of academic programmes and under-utilisation of existing facilities.

The minister’s intervention comes amid persistent concerns over the government’s ability to adequately finance existing universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, with billions of naira in outstanding revitalisation commitments yet to be met.

Making a case for the policy, Alausa argued that Nigeria’s immediate challenge was no longer the multiplication of tertiary institutions but the strengthening of those already established to deliver quality education.

He warned that continuing to establish new institutions without guaranteed funding would deepen the crisis in the sector, potentially leaving more institutions struggling to provide basic academic facilities and services.

“The Federal Government’s position is that the immediate challenge confronting the tertiary education sector is not merely the expansion of access but the urgent need to strengthen existing institutions,” he stated.

According to him, the moratorium would allow the government to consolidate previous investments, address existing deficiencies and improve the carrying capacity of operational institutions before considering further expansion.

Alausa expressed concern that despite the government’s policy direction, bills seeking the establishment of additional federal tertiary institutions continued to receive legislative attention.

While acknowledging the constitutional powers of the National Assembly to initiate and enact laws establishing institutions, he urged lawmakers to consider the prevailing realities of the education sector, including demonstrable national needs and the long-term financial implications of such legislation.

He identified inadequate lecture halls, overcrowded classrooms, poorly equipped laboratories, shortages of qualified academic personnel, accommodation deficits and deteriorating infrastructure as some of the major challenges confronting existing federal institutions.

The minister warned that creating more institutions under such circumstances would amount to spreading already inadequate resources thinner, with potentially damaging consequences for academic standards.

Alausa also presented figures showing the extent of the Federal Government’s outstanding financial obligations to the university system, particularly its commitments to the revitalisation of public universities.

He disclosed that of the N1.3 trillion pledged under the 2013–2018 Federal Government-ASUU revitalisation agreement, only N250 billion was reportedly released between 2013 and 2021.

Similarly, he said that out of the additional N150 billion approved in 2025 for Needs Assessment Intervention, only N50 billion was initially released.

The minister argued that the outstanding commitments raised serious questions about the government’s capacity to assume additional financial responsibilities through the establishment of new institutions.

“These funding gaps demonstrate the difficulty of meeting existing obligations and raise legitimate concerns about the capacity to sustain additional institutions without corresponding and guaranteed budgetary provisions,” he stated.

To further strengthen his argument, Alausa cited the experiences of Ekiti and Imo states, where the establishment of multiple tertiary institutions reportedly created financial and administrative challenges.

He recalled that three state-owned universities in Ekiti were consolidated into one institution, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, in 2011.

He also noted that Imo State had undertaken institutional reviews and integration following the establishment of several tertiary institutions under previous administrations.

According to him, some state governments had also approached the Federal Government seeking takeovers of their universities because of difficulties sustaining their operations.

He warned that institutions established without credible and sustainable funding arrangements could eventually become liabilities, forcing subsequent administrations to embark on expensive mergers, restructuring or outright closures.

“The institutions established without sustainable funding arrangements may subsequently require costly restructuring, merger or integration by successor administrations,” he cautioned.

Drawing lessons from other countries, the minister said Australia, Finland, Japan, the United States and South Africa had adopted institutional mergers and consolidation to tackle funding constraints, duplication of programmes and administrative inefficiencies.

He said such reforms had helped improve institutional governance, achieve economies of scale, strengthen research capacity and ensure more efficient deployment of public resources.

Alausa maintained that Nigeria needed to embrace a similar approach by placing institutional viability, academic standards and efficient resource utilisation above the continuous creation of new tertiary institutions.

He further warned that the establishment of additional institutions could undermine other ongoing government interventions in the education sector, which also require substantial and sustained funding.

Among the programmes he identified were infrastructure interventions by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, vocational and skills acquisition initiatives, as well as the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) and the Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Tools Allowance (CONTTA) for academic and non-academic personnel.

The minister stressed that establishing a tertiary institution involved far more than enacting an enabling law, noting that such decisions imposed long-term financial obligations on successive administrations.

He listed land acquisition, take-off grants, construction of infrastructure, recruitment of academic and non-academic personnel, procurement of equipment, utilities and recurrent expenditure among the costs the government must shoulder.

He warned that passing establishment bills without comprehensive feasibility studies, clear evidence of national educational needs and credible long-term funding arrangements could produce institutions that exist only on paper but lack the capacity to function effectively.

“Such institutions may eventually become financial liabilities, compelling future administrations to undertake costly mergers, restructuring or outright closure, with attendant consequences for students, staff, public investments and the national education system,” he stated.

Rather, he said the government intended to use the period to strengthen existing institutions, improve infrastructure, address manpower shortages, raise academic standards and ensure that any future expansion was backed by adequate financial and administrative planning.

He therefore appealed to Akpabio and the leadership of the National Assembly to align legislative activities with the policy.

“In view of the foregoing, I respectfully appeal to Your Excellency and the distinguished leadership of the National Assembly to support the Federal Government’s seven-year moratorium by exercising restraint in the consideration and passage of Bills for the establishment of additional Federal Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education during the period,” he stated.

The minister maintained that the country’s educational progress should not be determined by the number of universities, polytechnics and colleges established but by their ability to provide quality education, produce competent graduates and contribute meaningfully to national development.

“The success of our education system should be measured not merely by the number of institutions established but by the capacity of existing institutions to deliver high-quality education, produce competent graduates and contribute meaningfully to national development,” he added.

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