FG licenses first online varsity, 36 others

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, on Monday, disclosed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), has granted operating licences to 37 new private universities, including an online institution run by a woman.

Adamu who made the announcement while briefing journalists after an extraordinary FEC meeting presided by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the State House in Abuja, said the new set of approval brings to 72 the total number of universities licensed by the Buhari administration since 2015.

Adamu who did not give out the names of the successful institutions, said one of them was an “online university, the first of its kind in Nigeria and owned by a woman from Bauchi State.”

“One of the universities is an online university by a woman from Bauchi State and this is significant in the sense that we always want to have our women coming forward in education,” he said.

“As far as I’m concerned, we need more universities. We are still under-university. And if there are universities that are underfunded, they should be funded. It shouldn’t affect new universities that are being established.

“In any case, this one is by the private sector. And I assure you that the regulatory process is such that they will not be established unless they are fully ready for it.”

He added that the licences were granted based on the guarantees given by the institutions on funding and projections.

Adamu said they were all private facilities, adding, the varsities have enough funds to run them and should not be denied the opportunity to exist.