The Federal Government has initiated steps to overhaul the accreditation system for Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, citing concerns over overlapping mandates, rising costs, and operational inefficiencies.
Speaking at a high-level meeting with regulatory and professional bodies in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, said the current accreditation framework has become burdensome for institutions, with multiple bodies conducting separate visits and duplicating efforts.
Nigeria has over 72 federal universities and more than 160 private ones. Today, we have 25 different accrediting bodies visiting institutions at different times. This is unsustainable,” Alausa said.
He warned against turning accreditation into a commercial venture, noting that the fragmented system strains institutional resources and compromises the quality assurance process.
At the end of the deliberations, stakeholders agreed to key reforms, including joint accreditation exercises between academic regulators and professional bodies, standardised mandates, accreditation cycles of two to three years, and self-funding by accrediting agencies.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, and the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Abel Olumiyiwa Enitan, echoed support for harmonisation, stressing the need for collaboration across all tiers of government.
The meeting was attended by the Executive Secretary of the NUC, the JAMB Registrar, and other key leaders in the education sector.
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