FG Tightens Tertiary Accreditation, Admission Rules, Pays Lecturers Allowance

The Federal Government has commenced an overhaul of the accreditation system for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, warning institutions against presenting borrowed staff, equipment and facilities during accreditation exercises.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, issued the warning on Wednesday while inaugurating the Ministerial Committee on Strengthening Accreditation and Quality Assurance Systems for Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria.

Alausa said accreditation would be transformed from a periodic exercise into a continuous, digital and data-driven quality assurance process capable of verifying the actual capacity of institutions.

He said institutions should no longer create a temporary impression of their capacity by moving lecturers, laboratory equipment, workshop resources or library materials from other institutions solely for accreditation.

The minister said technology would be deployed to verify infrastructure, equipment and personnel through geospatial mapping, geotagging and digital identification.

He also proposed a digital staff verification framework using national identity infrastructure, including the National Identification Number and other secure databases, to establish each staff member’s identity and institutional affiliation.

On illegal admissions, Alausa said estimates of students admitted outside approved regulatory frameworks could run into hundreds of thousands.

He warned institutions against admitting students beyond approved carrying capacities, saying such practices put pressure on lecturers and infrastructure and could lead to poorly trained graduates.

The minister warned that officials who failed to comply with admission and accreditation requirements could lose their jobs, while private institutions that violate regulatory standards could have their operating licences revoked.

Alausa said the government also intended to create a digital platform that would serve as a single source of verified institutional data for the National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education and National Commission for Colleges of Education.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has released the full Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance to academic staff in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for January to August 2026.

Alausa said the payment was made in line with the 2025 Federal Government, Academic Staff Union of Universities agreement and that the affected institutions had been notified to begin payment to eligible staff.

He added that payment to non-academic staff was also being processed and was expected to be made available in the coming weeks.

The allowance is intended to support academic staff in purchasing essential tools and materials required for teaching, research and other academic activities.