First Online Varsity Debuts In Nigeria As Federal Gov’t Issues 37 New Licences

The Federal Government has approved the licensing of 37 new universities in Nigeria.

The approvals were granted during an extraordinary session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Monday.

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, disclosed this to State House Correspondents after the extraordinary FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He noted that the new approvals, bring to 72 the total number of universities licensed by the Buhari administration since 2015.

The minister, however, did not name the universities, revealing that one of them is an online university, the first of its kind in Nigeria owned by a woman from Bauchi State.

According to him, it is expected that the University will cater for the likes of northern Muslim women who feel reluctant or are restrained from attending physical campus education.

Asked if the additional universities were really expedient given the funding challenges of existing ones, Adamu explained that the new universities are all private, with enough funds to run them, hence they should not be denied the opportunity to exist.

Besides, the Minister added, “Nigeria actually needs more universities as the available ones are not adequate to take up all those aspiring for higher education.”