By Felix Khanoba
The Federal Government 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, citing funding constraints, inadequate infrastructure and concerns over declining academic standards.
The request was contained in a November 2, 2026, memo from the Federal Ministry of Education to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, asking lawmakers to exercise restraint in approving legislation for additional federal tertiary institutions in line with the government’s seven-year moratorium.
The memo, marked FME/DUE/NASS/153/Vol.1/147 and sighted in Abuja on Thursday, was signed by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa.
Alausa disclosed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), at its meeting on August 13, 2025, approved the moratorium to address the increasing proliferation of public tertiary institutions, duplication of academic programmes, under-utilisation of existing facilities and the government’s inability to adequately fund the sector.
He argued that Nigeria’s immediate challenge in tertiary education was no longer simply expanding access but strengthening existing institutions through improved funding, infrastructure, manpower and modern teaching and research facilities.
“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 minister stated.
He added that the moratorium would provide an opportunity to “consolidate existing investments and improve the quality and carrying capacity of institutions already established.”
The minister expressed concern that lawmakers continued to consider proposals for additional federal tertiary institutions despite the government’s policy direction.
While acknowledging the constitutional powers of the National Assembly to initiate and enact legislation, Alausa said such legislative efforts should reflect prevailing national education policies, clearly established educational needs and the financial implications of creating new institutions.
He warned that distributing limited resources among more institutions without first addressing the challenges confronting existing ones could further undermine the quality of tertiary education.
“Existing Federal Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education are confronted with serious funding and infrastructure deficits, including inadequate lecture halls, overcrowded classrooms, insufficient laboratories, shortages of qualified personnel, accommodation deficits and deteriorating facilities,” he stated.
According to him, establishing more institutions under the prevailing circumstances could worsen existing challenges rather than guarantee improved access to quality education.
The minister also drew attention to the Federal Government’s outstanding financial commitments to the revitalisation of public universities, particularly its agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
He disclosed that of the ₦1.3 trillion committed under the 2013-2018 Federal Government-ASUU revitalisation agreement, only ₦250 billion was reportedly released between 2013 and 2021.
Similarly, he said that of the additional ₦150 billion approved in 2025 for Needs Assessment Intervention, only ₦50 billion was initially released, leaving a significant balance outstanding.
“These funding gaps demonstrate the difficulty of meeting existing obligations and raise legitimate concerns about the capacity to sustain additional institutions without corresponding and guaranteed budgetary provisions,” he stated.
To further illustrate the financial implications of establishing multiple institutions, Alausa cited the experiences of Ekiti and Imo states.
He recalled that three state-owned universities in Ekiti were merged into one institution, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, in 2011.
He also noted that Imo State had undertaken institutional reviews and integration following the establishment of several tertiary institutions under previous administrations.
The minister said some state governments had also approached the Federal Government to take over their universities because of difficulties sustaining them financially.
According to the memo, these experiences highlight the risks associated with establishing public tertiary institutions without adequate long-term funding arrangements.
“The institutions established without sustainable funding arrangements may subsequently require costly restructuring, merger or integration by successor administrations,” he warned.
Alausa further referenced international experiences, noting that countries including Australia, Finland, Japan, the United States and South Africa had undertaken institutional mergers and consolidation to address funding difficulties, duplication of programmes and administrative inefficiencies.
He said such reforms were intended to achieve economies of scale, strengthen institutional governance and research capacity, and ensure more efficient utilisation of public resources.
The minister maintained that Nigeria should adopt a similar approach by prioritising the sustainability of existing institutions and academic quality rather than continually increasing their numbers.
He also identified competing demands on government resources within the education sector as another reason for lawmakers to support the moratorium.
According to the memo, the Federal Government is already funding several interventions, including infrastructure development through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), student financing under the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), vocational and skills acquisition programmes, as well as the implementation of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) and Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Tools Allowance (CONTTA) for academic and non-academic personnel.
He cautioned that these programmes required sustained financial commitments and should not be jeopardised by establishing additional institutions without clearly defined funding sources.
Alausa stressed that setting up a tertiary institution involved substantial financial obligations beyond the enactment of an enabling law.
“Such obligations extend beyond the administration that initiates the establishment and become continuing liabilities for successive governments,” he stated.
He identified take-off grants, land acquisition, infrastructure development, recruitment of personnel, procurement of equipment, utility services and recurrent expenditure as some of the major costs associated with establishing new institutions.
The minister warned that approving establishment bills without comprehensive feasibility studies, proven national educational needs and credible long-term financing arrangements could produce institutions that exist only on paper but lack the resources to operate effectively.
“Such institutions may eventually become financial liabilities, compelling future administrations to undertake costly mergers, restructuring or outright closure, with attendant consequences for students, staff, public investments and the national education system,” he warned.
However, Alausa clarified that the seven-year moratorium was not designed to permanently deny Nigerians access to tertiary education or rule out future expansion where compelling national needs arise.
Rather, he explained that the policy was intended to give the government sufficient time to consolidate existing investments, address institutional deficiencies, improve academic standards and ensure that any future expansion was properly planned and financially sustainable.
He consequently appealed to Akpabio and the leadership of the National Assembly to support the policy by refraining from passing bills establishing additional federal tertiary institutions during the seven-year period.
“In view of the foregoing, I respectfully appeal to Your Excellency and the distinguished leadership of the National Assembly to support the Federal Government’s seven-year moratorium by exercising restraint in the consideration and passage of Bills for the establishment of additional Federal Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education during the period,” the memo stated
The minister added that the performance of Nigeria’s education system should be assessed by the quality of education delivered and the contributions of graduates to national development rather than the number of institutions established.
“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,” he stated.
The memo was also copied to the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele.
