The Federal Government has increased the application fees for establishing new private universities in Nigeria. The new processing fee, as announced in a memo by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abdullahi Ribadu, has been raised from N5 million to N25 million.
This move is part of the NUC’s strategic initiative to reposition private universities across the country to better serve the needs of citizens and to improve the management and coordination of the private university sector within the broader Nigerian University System.
The NUC noted that the fee increase was also intended to help newly established private universities meet the growing educational challenges of the 21st century. In line with this, the Commission revealed that it had reviewed the guidelines for establishing private universities, a step aimed at ensuring these institutions are equipped to meet both local and global educational standards.
In the memo, the NUC outlined other key changes, including the suspension of the processing of all inactive applications. This includes applications that have not shown progress or submitted the required documents to the Commission for over two years. Additionally, applications that have only reached the stage of submitting Letters of Intent are also affected by this suspension.
The NUC also clarified that applicants who have already purchased the application forms for establishing a private university must now pay the revised processing fee of N25 million within 30 working days. Failure to do so will result in the forfeiture of their pending applications.
The Commission’s decision to raise the processing fees and introduce new policies is part of its ongoing efforts to ensure that the establishment of private universities in Nigeria aligns with global educational standards and contributes to the overall development of the country’s education sector.
