Ministry asks Senate to pause new federal universities for seven years

The Federal Ministry of Education has sent a memo to the Senate asking lawmakers to stop approving bills that would create new federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for seven years. The request, dated 2 November 2026, is aimed at preventing further strain on the education budget.

The memo, marked FME/DUE/NASS/153/Vol.1/147, was addressed to Senate President Senator Godswill Akpabio and copied to Senate Majority Leader Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele. It cites a decision by the Federal Executive Council on 13 August 2025 that approved a seven-year moratorium on establishing additional federal tertiary institutions. Minister of Education Dr Tunji Alausa explained that the proliferation of public institutions has led to duplicated programmes, under-used facilities and a declining capacity to fund the sector.

Alausa argued that the immediate challenge is no longer expanding access but strengthening existing institutions through better funding, infrastructure, staff and modern teaching and research facilities. He warned that spreading limited resources across more campuses would worsen existing deficits such as inadequate lecture halls, overcrowded classrooms, insufficient laboratories and shortages of qualified personnel.

The memo highlighted the government's outstanding financial commitments. Under the 2013-2018 revitalisation programme, only ₦250 billion of the promised ₦1.3 trillion was released between 2013 and 2021, and of the additional ₦150 billion approved in 2025 for Needs Assessment Intervention, only ₦50 billion has been disbursed. These gaps raise concerns about the capacity to sustain new institutions without guaranteed budgetary provisions.

Alausa pointed to the experiences of Ekiti and Imo states, where multiple state-owned universities were later merged to form single institutions DUE to financial and administrative pressures. He noted that some state governments have even asked the federal government to take over their universities because they could not sustain them.

International examples were also cited, with countries such as Australia, Finland, Japan, the United States and South Africa consolidating institutions to achieve economies of scale, improve governance and strengthen research capacity. The minister urged Nigeria to adopt a similar approach, prioritising institutional viability and academic quality over sheer expansion.

The memo reminded lawmakers that the federal government is already committing significant resources to programmes like TETFund infrastructure development, NELFUND, vocational and skills acquisition, and allowances for academic and non-academic staff. Adding new institutions would create long-term financial obligations, including take-off grants, land acquisition, infrastructure, recruitment, equipment procurement, utilities and recurrent expenditure.

While the moratorium is not intended to permanently block access to tertiary education, Alausa stressed that it provides time to consolidate existing investments, address deficiencies and ensure any future expansion is financially sustainable. He concluded by appealing to the Senate leadership to support the seven-year moratorium and exercise restraint in passing establishment bills.