Adamu Adamu, the minister of education, announced on Monday that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has authorized 37 new private universities, including a female-run online university, to operate.
During a press conference with journalists following an emergency FEC meeting at the State House in Abuja presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Adamu announced that with the latest round of clearance, the number of universities granted licenses by the Buhari administration since 2015 has reached 72.
Adamu said one of the successful schools was an "online university, the first of its kind in Nigeria and owned by a woman from Bauchi State," however he would not reveal the identities of the other institutions.
"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 continued by saying that the institutions' promises of money and projections served as the foundation for the licenses that were issued.
