NUC raises private university application fee by over 400%

…application form hiked from ₦6 million to ₦30 million

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has raised the application fee for establishing private universities in Nigeria by over 400 percent.

Abdullahi Ribadu, the executive secretary at NUC disclosed this recently in a statement when he explained that the price hike is for better coordination and to ensure that newly established private universities are positioned to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Ribadu in the statement disclosed that the commission has increased the fee for purchase of application forms for the establishment of a private university from N1million to N5million.

The fee for processing the application for the establishment of a private university is also raised from N5 million to N25 million.

Besides, the NUC said the N25million reviewed fee would be communicated to applicants who have purchased the application form at the former rate of N1million but are yet to pay the processing fee for their application.

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“They are also expected to effect payments within a period of 30 working days or risk forfeiture of their pending applications,” the statement read.

The commission also suspended further processing of all inactive applications including those of private open universities (those that have not made progress on their applications or made submissions to the commission for upwards of two years).

“The commission hereby imposes a moratorium for a period of one year with effect from Monday, February 10, 2025 on:

“Inactive applications for the establishment of new private universities to enable the commission to conduct a comprehensive review of such pending applications with a view to determining their viability;

“Applications on Step one of the 14-Step Procedure (that is, those that have submitted letters of intent only), and

“Acceptance of fresh applications for the establishment of private universities, including private open universities.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the commission will continue to process pending active applications and make appropriate recommendations to the Federal Executive Council for approval.”

Moreover, the commission stated that it has suspended further processing of all inactive applications including those of private open universities.