The federal government has raised concerns over the National Assembly’s proposal to establish nearly 200 new universities across the country.

With approximately 200 bills currently before the legislature seeking the creation of new institutions, the government has warned that the existing university system is already under significant strain and cannot accommodate further expansion.

Speaking at the third edition of the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, stressed the need to prioritize strengthening existing universities over creating new ones. He highlighted that Nigeria currently has 278 universities, comprising 64 federal, 67 state, and 147 private institutions.

Despite this, many universities struggle with inadequate infrastructure, low enrollment, and limited capacity to offer quality education.

“They (lawmakers) are passing a lot of bills. Today, I can tell you that there are almost 200 bills in the National Assembly. We can’t continue like this. Even though we have a lot of them, the capacity for a university to admit is not there. What we need to do now is to rebuild the capacities so that we can offer more viable courses to our citizens,” Alausa stated.

The minister expressed concern over the pressure on President Bola Tinubu to approve new universities, urging lawmakers to focus on improving existing institutions.

He emphasized the importance of investing in infrastructure, laboratories, engineering workshops, and recruiting qualified teaching staff to enhance the quality of education.

Alausa also revealed that private universities, which make up 147 of the total institutions, account for only 7.5% of undergraduate enrollments. With total undergraduate enrollment standing at approximately 875,000, many universities have fewer than 1,000 students, raising questions about the necessity of additional institutions.

The government recently imposed a one-year moratorium on the establishment of new private universities to ensure that only institutions with the financial and academic capacity are granted licenses.

However, the approval of new federal universities continues, often driven by influential individuals or collaborations between the executive and legislative arms of government.

For instance, President Tinubu recently signed bills establishing the Federal University of Agriculture and Development Studies in Iragbiji, Osun State, and the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences in Iyin Ekiti, Ekiti State.

Additionally, the Federal University of Environment and Technology (FUET) was approved for Tai, Rivers State, while the privately owned NOK University in Kachia, Kaduna State, was converted into the Federal University of Applied Sciences.

Despite the moratorium on private universities, the federal government has approved 11 new private institutions, including New City University in Ogun State, Eranova University in Abuja, and Southern Atlantic University in Akwa Ibom State.

Earlier, Legit.ng had reported that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had approved the adoption of Tai Solarin University of Education in Ijagun, Ogun state, as a federal university.

This development makes it the first federally owned tertiary institution in the Ogun East senatorial district

The announcement was made in a statement released and signed on Sunday, March 9, by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.

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Source: Legit.ng