The National Universities Commission (NUC) has announced a significant increase in the application fees for establishing private universities in Nigeria.
In a statement on Monday, the Commission’s Executive Secretary, Abdullahi Ribadu, explained the hike aims to enhance coordination and ensure that newly established private universities are equipped to tackle 21st-century challenges.
The fee for purchasing application forms has risen from N1 million to N5 million. The processing fee has been increased from N5 million to N25 million.
The NUC clarified that the revised N25 million processing fee would apply to applicants who previously purchased forms at the old rate 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 reads.
The Commission further announced a one-year moratorium on all inactive applications including those of private open universities (those that have not made progress on their applications or made submissions to the Commission for upwards of 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 statement added. (TheNation)