The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticized the Federal Government’s decision to approve new private universities, despite announcing a seven-year moratorium on establishing new tertiary institutions. ASUU President, Christopher Piwuna, questioned the rationale behind the move, arguing that access to university education in Nigeria is no longer a challenge.
Piwuna expressed dismay that the government would announce a moratorium on new tertiary institutions and then proceed to approve the establishment of nine new private universities. “If we agree that access is no longer an issue, why is the NUC giving more licenses to private universities?” he asked. ASUU emphasized the need for quality control in education, warning that creating more private institutions would worsen poor staffing, erase Nigerian universities from global rankings, and devalue degrees
The union lamented the “scandalous proliferation” of universities, accusing past and present administrations of using licenses as political patronage. With 72 federal and 108 state universities, and 159 private universities, Nigeria now has a total of 339 universities, averaging nine universities per state, excluding polytechnics and colleges of education. ASUU asked why the government wouldn’t place a moratorium on both public and private universities, given the current numbers
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, had argued that many universities operate below capacity, with some northern institutions having fewer than 1,000 students. “Several federal universities operate far below capacity, with some having fewer than 2,000 students. In one northern university, there are 1,200 staff serving fewer than 800 students. This is a waste of government resources,” Alausa stated. Despite this, ASUU believes the government should focus on strengthening existing institutions rather than creating new ones.
The union reiterated its demands for the government to address lingering issues affecting public universities and academics, including renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, revitalization funds, outstanding salary arrears, and promotion backlogs. ASUU warned that failure to address these issues would continue to undermine the quality of education in Nigeria.
