MORATORIUM ON TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

Oru Leonard 

Quantity often trumps quality. This seems to be the major affliction of the swathe of our tertiary institutions – Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education.

Nigeria is said to have 339 Universities. Seventy two are federal; 108 belong to the States while 159 are privately owned. This is not to add a bevy of Polytechnics and Colleges of Education owned by federal or state governments and private individuals.

Compounding the proliferation of tertiary institutions is their politicization. Members of the National Assembly, spurred by the need to massage their frail egos or to impress their constituents, are adept at sponsoring bills to establish Universities in their constituencies or villages. They often do so without recourse to ascertaining the funding of such Universities or seeking the guidance of the regulatory body, the National Universities Commission (NUC).

State governments, too, are not left out. Some, with their greedy gazes fixed on the intervention funds doled out by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), have established not less than three Universities in their respective states.

Add to this woe the preference of scholars and parents for the first generation Universities – University of Ibadan(UI), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) and University of Lagos (UNILAG). The upshot of this paradox is that while the first generation Universities are over-subscribed, the other ones are under-enrolled. Several Federal Universities are said to operate far below their installed capacities. In one such Federal University, 1,200 Staffers are reported to be serving 800 students. Thirty four Universities are said to be shunned. These Universities are said to have recorded zero applications from prospective admission seekers.

Against this inauspicious background, something must give. And the chickens came home to roost for our tertiary institutions on Wednesday, 13th August 2025. On that fateful day, and following a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, announced that the federal government had put a seven-year freeze on the establishment of new tertiary institutions in the country.
Wisdom, a sage once enthused, consists in knowing when to stop. The government was astute in putting a moratorium on the further mushrooming of tertiary institutions. This is because most of them are infra-structurally deprived and their facilities are so overstretched that they cannot deliver on learning, excellence and proper evaluation of their scholars. Neither can they confer integrity and character. These are requisite qualities Universities are renowned for globally.

Nigeria’s population enjoys a youthful bulge and continues to grow exponentially. Consequently, it deserves tertiary institutions to cater for this growing population. Unfortunately, even as the tertiary institutions prolifitate, they merely replicate the courses being offered by the first generation Universities. Little premium is being laid on creating departments and faculties that address our concerns of technology deficit and youth unemployment. Scant regard is paid to conferring skills sets that resonate or align with confronting our challenges or existential threats.
As if this was not bad enough, academic staff are often overstretched by the establishment of these tertiary institutions. As their establishment assumed the proportion of a bazaar, academics are compelled to proceed on sabbatical leaves to the new Universities. Some teach at not less than three Universities simultaneously. No matter how committed or energetic such academics may be, their outputs will ultimately suffer. Little time will be spared for research or authoring of books.

As the time-honored saying goes, when you invite a bazaar, you should expect the visit of pickpockets. Thus rather than putting emphasis on thorough evaluation of scholars and research, academics have begun to cut corners and to set store by making money.
While it is commendable that the government has put a pause on the establishment of tertiary institutions, it should use the seven-year freeze to address the challenges besetting these institutions. Infrastructure, particularly in the first and second generation Universities, have either decayed or are overstretched. More hostels, staff quarters and lecture halls should be built to provide decent accommodation and a conducive atmosphere for learning. State-of-the art equipment should be procured. Obsolete ones be replaced or upgraded to meet with contemporary technology. Libraries should be stocked with prescribed texts, reference materials and professional journals.
Staff of tertiary institutions should be well motivated so that they can give their best. Human capital development and research should be encouraged. That way academics can add to existing knowledge in their areas of expertise. This has multiplier effects as acquisition of further knowledge and exposure by academics will reflect on their students and the worth of their certificates.

As much as resources are available, certain lofty interventions being made by TETFund, by ways of human capital development, research and acquisition of publications, should extend to privately- owned tertiary institutions.
Since tertiary institutions do not exist in isolation, and they are usually subscribed to by scholars from secondary schools via the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the Ministry should adopt a holistic approach to education from Primary to Tertiary institutions. Curricula at the lower rungs of our education should be reviewed to reflect our challenges. Emphasis should be placed on skills acquisition and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Education.
Corners should not be cut for those who aspire for tertiary education. Neither should standards be lowered. A situation where the bar, instead of it to be raised, is rather being lowered, for admission to tertiary schools implies that by and by, such evaluation bodies as the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), and JAMB may be discarded.

We must revert to our hitherto high standards and restore rigor to our education at all levels. This is the way to go unless, of course, we are content with being the world’s laughing stock or keeping the rear in Global University Rankings.