FG Approves Nine New Private Universities
The Federal Government has officially approved the establishment of nine new private universities across Nigeria.
This announcement was made by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, during a press briefing on Wednesday following the Federal Executive Council meeting led by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
The newly approved universities are:• Tazkiyah University – Kaduna State
• Leadership University – Abuja
• Jimoh Babalola University – Kwara State
• Bridget University – Mbaise, Imo State
• Greenland University – Jigawa State
• JEFAP University – Niger State
• Azione Verde University – Imo State
• Unique Open University – Lagos State
• American Open University – Ogun State
Dr. Alausa noted that the current administration inherited 551 applications for new tertiary institutions.
After applying more rigorous evaluation criteria, this number was narrowed down to 79 active applications, out of which nine were approved.
He also revealed that many of the newly approved universities had been waiting for accreditation for over six years, with significant investments already made in infrastructure.
According to him, inefficiencies within the National Universities Commission (NUC) had caused prolonged delays.
However, recent reforms have improved the process, allowing for the current approvals.
The Minister further stated that a temporary halt has been placed on new applications for establishing private universities, polytechnics, and colleges of educationbunless they meet the revised operational standards.
