August 14 2025
By Ayinde Adeleke
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a sweeping seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, in a bid to halt the unchecked proliferation of tertiary institutions and refocus resources on improving existing ones.
The decision, taken at Wednesday’s FEC meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu, comes amid mounting concerns over dwindling enrolment, poor infrastructure, and a mismatch between staffing and student numbers in some federal schools.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, explained that several institutions across the country were operating far below capacity. In one extreme case, a federal university had 1,200 staff serving fewer than 800 students.
According to Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) data for the 2024/2026 admission cycle, 199 universities recorded fewer than 99 applications each, while 34 received no applications at all. Similar patterns of under-enrolment were observed in federal polytechnics and colleges of education.
Alausa said the moratorium limited to federal institutions would ensure government funds are directed towards strengthening infrastructure, staffing, and the quality of programmes already in place.
However, the FEC approved the licensing of nine new private universities, citing that their applications had long been in process and met the National Universities Commission (NUC) requirements.
The freeze also extends to the creation of new private polytechnics and colleges of education.
“This is about quality over quantity,” the Minister stressed. “We cannot continue to establish new schools when existing ones are struggling to function optimally.”
