The Federal Government has approved the establishment of nine new private universities across the country.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the approval on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
Alausa said the approvals came from a total of 79 active requests submitted by promoters of tertiary institutions. He explained that the administration had inherited 551 pending applications for new tertiary institutions, which were reviewed under stricter guidelines, reducing the list to 79, out of which nine were approved.
The newly approved institutions are Tazkiyah University, Kaduna, Kaduna State, Leadership University, Abuja, FCT, Jimoh Babalola University, Ilorin, Kwara State, Bridget University, Mbaise, Okirika-Nweke, Imo State, Greenland University, Jalingo, Taraba State, JEFAP University, Suleja, Niger State, Azione Verde University, Amaigbo, Imo State, Unique Open University, Ojo, Lagos State, American Open University, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Alausa noted that the approvals were part of efforts to clear a backlog caused by inefficiencies at the National Universities Commission (NUC). “We have since introduced reforms to streamline these processes, and today’s approvals are a result of clearing this backlog,” he said.
The minister also announced a seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. He attributed the decision to the low patronage of some previously approved institutions.
“We are doing this to further halt decays in tertiary institutions which may in future affect the quality of education and consequently cause unemployment of graduates from some of these institutions,” Alausa stated.
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