The Federal Government has raised the application fee for establishing private universities in Nigeria from ₦5 million to ₦25 million.
This was announced in a memo issued on Monday by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu. The NUC stated that the move is part of its efforts to enhance the private university sector and align it with 21st-century educational standards.
According to the commission, there is a need to review the guidelines for establishing private universities to ensure better coordination and improved service delivery. As part of this restructuring:
- Applications that have remained inactive for over two years, including private open university applications, will no longer be processed.
- Submissions that are only at the “Letter of Intent” stage will also be suspended.
- The fee for purchasing an application form has been increased from ₦1 million to ₦5 million.
- The processing fee for private university applications has been increased from ₦5 million to ₦25 million.
The NUC further stated that applicants who have already purchased forms must pay the revised processing fee within 30 working days or risk forfeiting their applications.
