Federal Government has asked National Assembly to stop considering and passing bills seeking to establish new federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, citing concerns over funding, infrastructure and the sustainability of existing institutions.
Gatekeepers News reports that Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, made the appeal in a letter dated November 2, 2026, addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Alausa urged lawmakers to support a seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new federal tertiary institutions, which was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on August 13, 2025.
He said the request was made in the interest of educational quality, fiscal sustainability and the efficient utilisation of public resources.
According to the minister, the government took the decision following concerns about the proliferation of institutions, duplication of academic programmes, under-utilisation of existing facilities and its declining capacity to adequately fund public tertiary institutions.
He acknowledged the constitutional powers of the National Assembly to initiate and pass legislation but urged lawmakers to ensure that proposals for new institutions were consistent with national education policy, demonstrated genuine needs and included clear financial implications.
The minister argued that the priority of the education sector should shift from establishing more institutions to improving existing ones through better infrastructure, adequate funding and recruitment of qualified academic and non-academic personnel.
He identified inadequate lecture halls, overcrowded classrooms, insufficient laboratories, staff shortages, accommodation deficits and deteriorating facilities as some of the challenges confronting existing federal institutions.
Alausa warned that spreading limited resources across additional institutions without addressing these challenges would further weaken the quality of education.
He also cited outstanding government funding commitments to the university sector as evidence of the financial constraints facing the education system.
According to him, only N250 billion of the N1.3 trillion revitalisation agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), covering 2013 to 2018, was reportedly released between 2013 and 2021.
He added that of the additional N150 billion approved in 2025 for the Needs Assessment Intervention, only N50 billion was initially released.
The minister said establishing new tertiary institutions required substantial investments in land, infrastructure, personnel, equipment and recurrent expenditure, which would create long-term financial obligations for successive governments.
He therefore urged lawmakers to prioritise the viability and quality of existing institutions rather than continuously increasing their numbers.
Meanwhile, the Senate had directed its committees to suspend the processing of bills seeking to establish new tertiary institutions in line with the Federal Government’s policy.
The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, announced the directive during plenary on Wednesday, urging the relevant committees to stop presenting such bills for consideration.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio also disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had discussed the matter with the National Assembly leadership and opposed the establishment of new federal universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions for the next five to seven years.
Akpabio said the moratorium would allow existing institutions to consolidate their operations, improve infrastructure and utilise available resources effectively.
He also observed that some recently established universities were yet to secure permanent sites or complete necessary site-clearance processes.
The Federal Government’s position is aimed at addressing challenges in the tertiary education sector by strengthening existing institutions before considering further expansion.
