The Federal Government’s recent announcement of a seven (7) years suspension on establishing new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education is, without doubt, one of the most sensible policy decisions in recent years.
For years, the political class has paraded the creation of new tertiary institutions as a symbol of “achievement“ with little regard for whether the ones already in existence are functioning at their best or not.
Funny enough, each year, bills for new universities and polytechnics are churned out and you sometimes wonder if one day a Senator might propose establishing a Federal University of Senate, Abuja. Lol!
The reality is that Nigeria already has more than enough federal institutions scattered across the country, yet many of them are struggling with inadequate funding, decaying infrastructure, poor staffing and outdated equipment.
For me, opening more schools under these conditions is like building new houses while the old ones are crumbling.
So, this pause offers a golden opportunity to shift focus from quantity to quality by channeling resources, attention and more importantly strong oversight towards upgrading and fully equipping the institutions we already have.
However, the success of this policy will depend entirely on what happens next. If the funds saved from halting new establishments are properly managed and invested in existing institutions, Nigeria’s education system could witness a real transformation. If not, this bold decision will become just another missed opportunity.
At least, let’s focus on fixing what we have first.
– Abdulkadir Bin ABDULMALIK
Kogi State, Nigeria.
