FG places 6 years moratorium on establishment of tertiary institutions

….Finalising agreements with SSANU, NASU, NAAT
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA — THE Federal Government, yesterday, said it has placed a six year moratorium on the establishment of tertiary institutions across the country.

The government also pleaded with the non-teaching staff unions in the universities to exercise little patients as the Yahaya Ahmed Committee is finalising agreements with them.

Briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council, FEC meeting, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, the Minister of Education said the move was to improve the quality of education in the country.

Explaining how the memo came about, the Minister said last year a moratorium was placed on private universities, adding that the fresh order was for all tertiary institutions, including polytechnics and colleges of education.

He said Nigeria was no longer worried about access to tertiary education, but on how to improve the quality.

He said: “The memo that was approved by council today is the placement of a Moratorium, six-year moratorium on establishment of new tertiary institutions, universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. Access is not an issue again in the country.

“We have lots of tertiary institutions, both public and private. We need to help this private institution be sustainable financially. Just last year, we had 2.3 million Nigerians applied to take JAMB and almost 228 universities had less than 50 candidates apply.

“Today, we’ve solved the problem of ASUU. Now, more people will go to public universities. What will not happen is that there will be less people going to private universities. So, these proprietors have invested a lot of money. We need to make their business sustainable as we improve quality, in both public and private universities that are available to educate our citizens.”

The Minister also said FEC approved the reversal of the status of the National Commission for Mass literacy, Adult and non-formal education that was converted to a unit in the Ministry of education earlier on in the life of this administration.

He explained that the President’s agenda was to educate over 50 million Nigerians in the next two to three years to make them digitally literate, saying, “We felt that making a commission that had been in existence for 20 – 30 years a unit will not help this agenda well.

“So, we sorted the approval of the council to revert it back to a commission which Mr President as the chairman of the Council graciously approved.

“This is good for our adults and for people that are also illiterate, because the National Mass literacy, Adult and formal education commission has done a yoeman job in educating people in the rural areas.”

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