FG urges Senate to halt creation of new tertiary institutions for seven years

The Federal Government has formally requested the National Assembly to suspend the passage of bills seeking to establish new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education for a period of seven years.

The Ministry of Education, in a memo dated November 2, 2026, addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, urged lawmakers to respect the seven-year moratorium previously approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in August 2025.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, stated that the challenge confronting Nigeria’s education sector is not the expansion of access, but the urgent need to strengthen existing institutions.

The Ministry warned that the continued proliferation of schools would worsen the funding crisis of the sector and undermine academic standards.

The moratorium aims to address the duplication of academic programmes, under-utilisation of existing facilities, and the declining capacity of the government to fund the sector adequately.

“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. 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”.

The minister revealed that existing federal institutions are currently battling serious deficits, including inadequate lecture halls, overcrowded classrooms, insufficient laboratories, and accommodation shortages.

Alausa also disclosed the Federal Government’s outstanding financial obligations to public universities, stressing that out of the ₦1.3 trillion pledged for the 2013-2018 ASUU revitalisation commitment, only ₦250 billion was released between 2013 and 2021. He added that from the ₦150 billion Needs Assessment Intervention approved in 2025, only ₦50 billion had been disbursed.

He made reference to global institutions in Australia, Finland, Japan, the United States, and South Africa, where institutional mergers and consolidations were undertaken to achieve economies of scale and improve governance.

He also recalled the consolidation of three state-owned universities into a single institution in Ekiti State in 2011 to manage financial constraints.

The minister warned that establishing new institutions without long-term funding arrangements could force future administrations into costly mergers or outright closures.