The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has urged the National Assembly to suspend the passage of bills seeking to establish new federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for seven years.
The minister made the appeal in a communication addressed to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, explaining that the proposed moratorium was intended to address the proliferation of tertiary institutions, duplication of academic programmes and inadequate funding.
According to Alausa, the Federal Executive Council approved the seven-year moratorium in August 2025 as part of efforts to strengthen existing institutions and improve the quality of tertiary education in the country.
He noted that several federal tertiary institutions were already struggling with inadequate lecture halls, overcrowded classrooms, insufficient laboratories, shortages of qualified personnel and deteriorating infrastructure.
The minister warned that establishing additional institutions without addressing these existing challenges could further weaken academic standards and compromise the quality of education.
He also cited the experiences of Ekiti and Imo States, which undertook the consolidation and restructuring of some tertiary institutions following financial and administrative challenges.
Alausa further explained that establishing new institutions would create long-term financial obligations for successive governments, including expenditure on infrastructure, personnel, equipment, utilities and recurrent operations.
He clarified that the proposed moratorium was not intended to permanently restrict access to tertiary education but to provide an opportunity for the government to consolidate existing investments, improve infrastructure, strengthen academic standards and ensure sustainable funding.
The minister consequently urged the National Assembly to exercise restraint in considering bills seeking to establish new federal tertiary institutions.
He stressed that the success of the education sector should be measured by the quality of its graduates and institutions rather than the number of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education established.
Tags: Tunji Alausa, Federal Ministry of Education, Nigerian Universities, Federal Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education, National Assembly, Tertiary Education, Education Funding, Education Policy, Nigeria Education Reform
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