EDUCATION MINISTER TELLS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO FUND EXISTING SCHOOLS, NOT CREATE NEW ONES
The Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, has called on lawmakers to prioritize improving funding for existing tertiary institutions rather than establishing new ones amid Nigeria’s strained fiscal conditions. His appeal came in a memorandum submitted during a public hearing held in Abuja by the House Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education.
Alausas’s main opposition was to a bill seeking the establishment of the Federal College of Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition in Hawul LGA, Borno State (HB.1797). He argued that the federal government’s policy mandates an equitable spread of federal polytechnics, with all states except Sokoto and the FCT already having one. According to Alausa, “expanding the number of institutions without sufficient funding diminishes quality.” He encouraged state governments and private investors to pursue alternatives like private universities or state-run polytechnics.
On the proposed amendments to the Federal Polytechnics Act (HB.1413 and HB.2114), Alausa supported redefining the roles of polytechnics but raised objections to granting governing council seats to representatives from the NBTE and MAN, citing role conflicts. He maintained that NBTE is a regulator and MAN an advocacy body, both ill-suited for institutional governance roles. Alausa concluded by urging the legislature to focus investments on upgrading infrastructure, faculty, and curricula in existing institutions.
