Bola Tinubu’s administration has imposed a N30 million fee for the purchase and processing of applications for new private universities. Meanwhile, this previously cost N6 million.
In a statement on Monday, National Universities Commission (NUC) Executive Secretary Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu also announced a one-year suspension of all inactive applications, including those for private open universities.
According to the statement, the government has increased the processing fees for establishing new private universities from ₦5 million to ₦25 million.
Additionally, the cost of the application form has been raised from N1 million to N5 million.
The statement said by virtue of the provisions of the Education (National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institutions) Act, CAP E3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, the Commission is empowered to provide guidelines for the establishment of private universities in Nigeria.
It reads, “Pursuant to the above and in line with the directive of the Honourable Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission hereby informs Promoters of proposed Private Universities in particular and the general public as follows: The Commission hereby suspends further processing of:
“All inactive applications including those of private open universities (i.e. those that have not made progress on their applications or made submissions to the Commission for upwards of two years), and“Applications at the stage of submission of Letters of Intent only.
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“The Fee for purchase of Application Forms for the Establishment of a Private University is hereby reviewed from One Million (N1,000,000.00) Naira to (Five Million (N5,000,000.00) Naira; The Processing Fee for Application for the Establishment of a Private University is hereby reviewed from Five Million (N5,000,000.00) Naira to Twenty-Five Million (N25,000,000.00) Naira;
“The NUC will convey the reviewed Processing Fee of Twenty-Five Million (N25,000,000.00) Naira to applicants that have purchased Application Forms only. They are also expected to effect payments within a period of thirty (30) working days or risk forfeiture of their pending applications;
“The Commission hereby imposes a Moratorium for a period of one year with effect from Monday, 10th February, 2025 on:
“Inactive applications for the establishment of new private universities to enable the Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of such pending applications with a view to determining their viability;
“Applications on Step 1 of the 14-Step Procedure (i.e. those that have submitted Letters of Intent only), and acceptance of fresh applications for the establishment of private universities, including private open universities;
The Commission is in the process of reviewing other aspects of the Guidelines for the Establishment of Private Universities in Nigeria to ensure that the proposed Universities, when licensed, are positioned to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. Details of the review would be communicated to Stakeholders in due course.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Commission will continue to process pending active applications and make appropriate recommendations to the Federal Executive Council for approval,” it added.
A source in the education ministry on Monday revealed that the education minister, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, has been attempting to commercialise education in the country.
“The new minister is trying to turn the Ministry of Education into a revenue generating ministry.
“Despite former President Muhammadu Buhari’s ineptitude and wickedness, he never increased these fees,” the source said, lamenting the situation.
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