The National Universities Commission (NUC) has raised the application fee for establishing private universities in Nigeria by over 400%.
In a statement on Monday, the commission’s Executive Secretary, Abdullahi Ribadu, explained that the price increase aims to improve coordination and ensure that newly established private universities can meet the challenges of the 21st century.
The NUC has increased the cost of purchasing the application form for setting up a private university from N1m to N5m, and the processing fee has been raised from N5m to N25m.
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The commission added that the updated N25m fee will be communicated to applicants who had already purchased the application form at the previous rate of N1m but have yet to pay the processing fee.
“They are also expected to effect payments within a period of 30 working days or risk forfeiture of their pending applications,” the statement read.
The Commission has also halted the processing of all inactive applications, including those from private open universities that have not made progress or submitted documents to the Commission for over two years.
“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.
“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.”
The NUC said since 1999, the Federal Government has approved the establishment of 149 private universities based on its recommendation.