The Federal Government has raised the processing fee for establishing new private universities to N25m, according to a memo issued on Monday by Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC). The fee, previously set at N5m, is part of efforts to reposition private universities in Nigeria to better serve the public and enhance the coordination of private higher education development.
The memo emphasizes the need to update the guidelines for establishing private universities, ensuring that new institutions are equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century. In a bid to streamline the application process, the NUC has also suspended inactive applications—including those from private open universities that have not made progress in over two years—and applications that remain at the stage of submitting letters of intent.
Additionally, the memo noted that the fee for purchasing application forms for the establishment of a private university has been revised from N1,000,000 to N5,000,000. The updated processing fee will be communicated to applicants who have already bought application forms, and they are required to make the necessary payments within 30 working days or risk forfeiting their pending applications.
