The Federal Government has announced the establishment of nine new private universities across the country.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
The newly approved institutions include Tazkiyah University in Kaduna State; Leadership University in Abuja; Jimoh Babalola University in Kwara State; Bridget University in Mbaise, Imo State; Greenland University in Jigawa State; JEFAP University in Niger State; Azione Verde University in Imo State; Unique Open University in Lagos State; and American Open University in Ogun State.
Alausa revealed that the Tinubu administration inherited 551 pending applications for the establishment of tertiary institutions, which were subjected to stricter approval guidelines. He announced that the list was reduced to 79 active applications, out of which nine were approved on Wednesday.
“Due to inefficiencies within the NUC, approvals were delayed. We have since introduced reforms to streamline these processes, and today’s approvals are a result of clearing this backlog,” the minister said.
The announcement comes after the minister recently declared a halt to the establishment of more federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, emphasizing the need to focus on improving existing institutions rather than expanding the number of government-owned tertiary schools.
