The Nigerian Federal Government has formally requested a seven-year moratorium on the creation of additional federal tertiary institutions. According to AllAfrica, Education Minister Dr Tunji Alausa submitted a memorandum to Senate President Godswill Akpabio on November 2, 2026, urging the National Assembly to exercise restraint in passing bills for new schools. The minister argued that the current focus should shift from expanding access to strengthening the operational capacity of established federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
The proposal follows a decision by the Federal Executive Council in August 2025 to manage the rapid growth of public tertiary institutions. AllAfrica reports that Alausa cited the need to tackle the duplication of academic programmes and the under-utilisation of existing facilities. The minister warned that continuing to create new institutions without guaranteed funding would spread scarce resources too thin, potentially compromising academic standards and the survival of established schools.
Financial constraints form the core of the government's argument. Alausa highlighted that of the 1.3 trillion naira pledged under the 2013-2018 Federal Government-ASUU revitalisation deal, only 250 billion was released between 2013 and 2021. Additionally, out of an extra 150 billion naira approved in 2025 for needs assessment, only 50 billion was initially disbursed. The minister stated that these funding gaps raise legitimate concerns about the government's ability to sustain additional institutions without corresponding budgetary provisions.
To support the case for consolidation, the minister pointed to the outcomes in Ekiti and Imo states, where multiple state-owned institutions were merged or reviewed due to financial and administrative challenges. AllAfrica notes that Alausa also referenced international examples from five countries, including Australia and Japan, where institutional mergers helped improve governance and resource efficiency. The government intends to use the moratorium period to improve infrastructure, address manpower shortages, and ensure future expansion is backed by credible financial planning.
The memorandum specifically identified inadequate lecture halls, overcrowded classrooms, and deteriorating infrastructure as major challenges. Alausa cautioned that institutions established without sustainable funding could become liabilities, forcing future administrations to undertake costly restructuring or closures. He appealed to lawmakers to align legislative activities with these policy goals, emphasising that educational success should be measured by the quality of graduates rather than the sheer number of institutions.