Moratorium on new varsities: Better late than never
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•CONUA, ASUU seek better deal for existing ones
By Adesina Wahab
When the establishment of public universities turned to constituency projects, apologies to the immediate past National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, then there is need to ask questions. True to Osodeke’s assertion, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, in a chat recently confirmed that over 100 bills are before the National Assembly seeking the establishment of universities in various parts of the country. Each lawmaker wants a university in his backyard.
Read Also: FG bans creation of new Federal Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education for seven years
Arguments are for and against the need for more universities. Those saying Nigeria needs more would readily point to a place like the United States where there are thousands of universities and other higher institutions. They would add that the population of the US is just about twice that of Nigeria. They are always reeling the statistics that about two million candidates seek admission to higher institutions annually and barely 600,000 are admitted.
But they seem to always overlook the challenge of funding of the institutions, providing necessary facilities and even staffing them appropriately.
The recent decision of the federal government to put a lid on the setting up of new public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education is long overdue. The seven-year moratorium is a welcome development. In addition, the resolve of the FG to also stop licensing new private universities for the next one year and even increase the licensing fee is in order.
Why FG took the step
Alausa, while speaking on the development, noted, “This decision aims to halt the unchecked proliferation of underutilised institutions, which has led to inefficiencies, poor infrastructure, inadequate staffing, and declining student enrollment across the country’s federal tertiary education system.”
He, however stated that the duplication of federal institutions has spread resources too thinly, resulting in some universities operating far below capacity.
Giving an instance, he said “one northern university has 1,200 staff catering to fewer than 800 students. Currently, Nigeria has 72 federal universities, 42 federal polytechnics, and 28 federal colleges of education, many of which suffer from poor enrollment: 199 universities had fewer than 100 applicants through JAMB last year, with 34 recording zero applications.
“Likewise, many polytechnics and colleges of education reported similarly low interest, with 64 colleges of education having no applicants at all. The moratorium will allow the government to refocus resources on improving existing institutions by upgrading facilities, recruiting qualified staff, and expanding their carrying capacity.”
Dr. Alausa emphasized that the goal is to improve education quality and sustain the international respect Nigeria’s graduates enjoy, warning that continuing the current trend risks producing poorly trained graduates and increasing unemployment.
Strengthen and expand existing ones — CONUA
Reacting to the development, the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) called for the strengthening and the expansion of existing universities.
“CONUA has taken note of the recent licensing of 21 new universities, including the conversion of some polytechnics and/or colleges of education to universities. While the union acknowledges the legitimacy of the growing demand for university education, driven by Nigeria’s large and youthful population, it expresses cautious concern about the current trend.
“CONUA affirms that the existing number of universities in the country is insufficient to cater to the increasing quest for quality higher education. However, the union believes that a more prudent approach in the face of dwindling national resources would be to first focus on strengthening and expanding the capacities of existing universities.
Rather than establishing new universities, many of which are appearing to emerge as “constituency projects,” CONUA recommends that attention be given to improving infrastructure, staffing, research funding, and student support systems (as we currently have in NELFUND) in established institutions. This approach, in the short term, will yield more meaningful improvements in access and quality.
“In the long term, CONUA is not opposed to the creation of new universities. However, such expansion should be done in a methodical and sustainable manner, guided by clear academic, economic, and infrastructural considerations, not political expediency. The union urges the Federal Government to balance expansion with quality assurance to avoid weakening the already strained higher education system. Nigeria’s future depends not just on how many universities exist, but how effectively they deliver on their mandate.”
Evaluate existing ones — ASUU
Similarly, ASUU has called on the FG to evaluate existing public tertiary institutions, especially universities set up recently.
The Chairman of the Lagos Zone of the union, Prof. Nassir Adesola, noted that an evaluation of how those on ground are functioning is necessary.
“I would say that is what we have been agitating for all these years, you don’t need to set up universities you can adequately fund and cater to. It is advisable that the FG evaluates existing ones, especially those set up recently whether they are living up to expectations and meeting the required standards,” he said.
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