FG tightens accreditation, admission rules, clears lecturers’ tools allowance

The proposed system, according to Alausa, would also help the National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education and National Commission for Colleges of Education develop reliable records of institutions over time rather than depend mainly on information gathered during periodic accreditation visits.

The minister said the Federal Ministry of Education had recently held discussions involving the three major tertiary education regulatory agencies and professional regulatory bodies to address areas of regulatory overlap.

He added that the government was awaiting advice from the Attorney-General of the Federation on the next steps.

According to him, a unified digital platform containing verified institutional data could improve coordination among regulators and reduce conflicts arising from differences in accreditation and professional requirements.

Alausa noted that some of the accreditation tools currently in use were developed decades ago and required modernisation to meet present-day realities.

He charged the newly inaugurated committee to review the accreditation processes of the NUC, NBTE and NCCE and make practical recommendations for their improvement.

The ultimate goal, he said, was to establish a system that is transparent, credible, efficient, technology-driven and based on independently verifiable evidence.

“Technology should enable us to move from declarations to verification and from assumptions to evidence,” Alausa said.

He added that the reforms were intended to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s tertiary education system and safeguard the interests of students.

On admissions, the minister said the Federal Government would intensify efforts to tackle illegal admissions and institutions exceeding their approved carrying capacities.

Alausa said estimates of students admitted outside approved regulatory procedures could run into hundreds of thousands.

He expressed concern that some institutions admitted far more students than they were approved to accommodate, placing additional pressure on lecturers, infrastructure and other resources needed to provide quality education.

The minister said it was unacceptable for an institution approved to admit about 100 students to subsequently enrol as many as 1,000 students.

According to him, such practices could contribute to the production of graduates who are inadequately prepared for the labour market.

Alausa said the Federal Government would hold institutions and their officials accountable for violations of admission and accreditation regulations.

“This Ministry of Education is not going to let this continue. Other presidents, other governments may have allowed this to continue, but we are not going to let this continue,” he said.

“You will lose your job if you don’t act on time. Private institutions will lose their licences.”

The minister’s warning comes amid longstanding concerns about admissions beyond approved carrying capacities, unaccredited programmes and enrolment conducted outside established regulatory procedures.

Meanwhile, Alausa announced that the Federal Government had fully released the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance for academic staff in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education from January to August 2026.

He said the payment was made in line with the provisions of the 2025 agreement between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

CATA is an allowance provided to academic staff to support the purchase of materials and tools required for teaching, research and other academic responsibilities.

“The Office of the Minister of Education is happy to announce that the full CATA payment has now been released by the Federal Government from January to August 2026 to all universities, all polytechnics and colleges of education,” Alausa said.

“All these institutions should have received notification to start paying CATA to all academic staff.”

The minister added that the Federal Government was also making arrangements for the payment of allowances to non-academic staff.

He expressed optimism that the funds for the payment would be made available within the coming weeks.

According to Alausa, the payment reflects the commitment of the Federal Government to improving the welfare of academic and non-academic staff in the country’s tertiary institutions.

He added that the administration’s education reforms also include investments in tertiary institution infrastructure, as well as interventions across basic and postgraduate education.