The Federal Government has appealed to the National Assembly to stop approving bills seeking to establish new federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for seven years, warning that continued expansion could worsen the country’s education funding crisis and undermine academic standards.
The appeal was contained in a Federal Ministry of Education memo dated November 2, 2026, and addressed to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
The memo, marked FME/DUE/NASS/153/Vol.1/147, urged the Senate leadership and other lawmakers to exercise restraint in considering bills for additional federal tertiary institutions in support of the government’s seven-year moratorium.
According to the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, the Federal Executive Council approved the moratorium at its meeting on August 13, 2025, as part of efforts to address the growing number of public tertiary institutions, duplication of academic programmes, under-utilisation of existing facilities and the government’s declining capacity to adequately fund the sector.
Alausa said the immediate challenge facing Nigeria’s tertiary education system was no longer simply the expansion of access but the need to strengthen existing institutions through improved funding, infrastructure, personnel 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 bills seeking to establish additional federal tertiary institutions continued to receive attention despite the government’s policy direction.
While acknowledging the constitutional powers of the National Assembly to initiate and enact legislation, Alausa said such proposals should be guided by national education policies, demonstrable educational needs and the financial implications of establishing new institutions.
He warned that spreading limited resources across more institutions without addressing the challenges confronting existing ones could further weaken 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.
Alausa argued that establishing more institutions under such circumstances could compound the sector’s difficulties rather than improve access to quality education.
FG cites outstanding university funding commitments
One of the major concerns raised in the memo was the Federal Government’s outstanding financial commitments to the revitalisation of public universities.
Alausa disclosed that under the 2013-2018 Federal Government-ASUU revitalisation agreement of ₦1.3 trillion, only ₦250 billion was reportedly released between 2013 and 2021.
He also revealed that of the additional ₦150 billion approved in 2025 for Needs Assessment Intervention, only ₦50 billion was initially released, leaving a substantial outstanding commitment.
“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.
The minister cited the experiences of Ekiti and Imo states as examples of the financial and administrative challenges associated with establishing multiple tertiary institutions without sustainable funding arrangements.
He recalled that three state-owned universities in Ekiti State were consolidated into one institution, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, in 2011.
Similarly, he said Imo State had undertaken institutional reviews and integration following the establishment of several tertiary institutions under previous administrations.
Alausa also noted that some state governments had approached the Federal Government to take over their universities because of difficulties sustaining them financially.
He warned that institutions established without adequate funding arrangements could eventually require costly restructuring, mergers or integration by subsequent administrations.
Minister highlights funding pressures
The minister further cited international experiences, including those of Australia, Finland, Japan, the United States and South Africa, where institutional mergers and consolidation have been undertaken to address financial constraints, duplication of programmes and administrative inefficiencies.
He said such reforms were intended to achieve economies of scale, improve governance, strengthen research capacity and ensure more efficient use of public resources.
Alausa argued that Nigeria should similarly prioritise institutional viability and academic quality over the continued expansion of tertiary institutions.
He also identified competing funding priorities within the education sector as another reason lawmakers should support the moratorium.
According to the memo, the Federal Government is already committing substantial resources to interventions such as Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) infrastructure development, 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 warned that these programmes required sustained funding and should not be undermined by the establishment of additional institutions without clearly identified sources of financing.
Alausa stressed that establishing a tertiary institution involved more than passing an enabling law, as it created long-term financial obligations for the government.
Such responsibilities, he said, included take-off grants, land acquisition, infrastructure development, recruitment of personnel, procurement of equipment, utilities and recurrent expenditure.
He cautioned that passing establishment bills without comprehensive feasibility studies, demonstrable educational needs and credible long-term funding arrangements could result in institutions that existed only in law but lacked the resources and capacity to function 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.
FG says moratorium is not permanent ban
However, the minister clarified that the seven-year moratorium was not intended to permanently deny Nigerians access to tertiary education or prevent future expansion where compelling national needs existed.
Rather, he said the policy was designed to give the government time to consolidate existing investments, address institutional deficiencies, improve academic standards and ensure that any future expansion was properly planned and financially sustainable.
He therefore appealed to Akpabio and the leadership of the National Assembly to support the policy by exercising restraint in considering and passing bills for new 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.
Alausa maintained that the success of Nigeria’s education system should not be measured by the number of institutions established but by their capacity to provide quality education, produce competent graduates and contribute meaningfully to national development.
“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.