The Federal Government has approved a 7-year ban on the establishment of new federal tertiary educational institutions across the country.
The moratorium covers universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
Tunji Alausa, the minister of education, announced the approval while briefing State House Journalists on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, after the Federal Executive Council FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The Minister, however, announced that the Council approved 9 new private universities out of the 79 active requests made by their promoters.
Alausa attributed the moratorium to none non-patronage of some of the previously approved institutions.
” We are doing this to further halt decays in tertiary institutions, which may in the future affect the quality of education and consequently cause unemployment of graduates from some of these institutions,” he said.
The Minister said 551 establishments were inherited by the current administration, but had to prune the number to 79, following the introduction of new, stringent policies for the establishment of such institutions.
Out of the 79, nine were approved today.