ABUJA — The Federal Government has begun an overhaul of Nigeria's tertiary education accreditation system, warning universities, polytechnics and colleges of education against borrowing lecturers, equipment and facilities to create a misleading impression of their capacity during accreditation exercises.

Minister of Education Tunji Alausa announced the reforms in Abuja during the inauguration of the Ministerial Committee on Strengthening Accreditation and Quality Assurance Systems for Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria.

The government plans to move away from an accreditation system largely dependent on physical inspections conducted every three to five years towards a continuous, digital and data driven process capable of verifying the actual resources available at individual institutions.

Alausa said institutions must demonstrate their genuine and sustainable capacity to teach students rather than temporarily assemble personnel, laboratory equipment, library materials or other facilities ahead of an accreditation visit.

“An institution should not be able to prepare a temporary picture of itself simply for an accreditation visit,” the minister said.

He said the government would also address the temporary movement or presentation of academic and non academic staff solely for accreditation purposes.

Similar measures would apply to laboratory facilities, workshop resources, equipment and library materials.

The objective, according to Alausa, is to ensure that whatever accreditation officials inspect represents resources genuinely available to students throughout the academic year.

Government plans digital verification system

Technology will play a central role in the proposed accreditation system.

The government is considering geospatial mapping, geotagging and digital identification systems that could establish the location and ownership of equipment presented by institutions.

Critical equipment could receive unique digital records linking it to a specific institution and physical location.

The system would make it more difficult for institutions to temporarily move equipment between campuses or schools ahead of accreditation visits.

Staffing would also be subject to stronger digital verification.

Alausa proposed a comprehensive identity management system that could allow regulators to establish the identity, presence and institutional affiliation of academic and non academic personnel.

The government is considering collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission and the use of the National Identification Number, alongside other secure government databases, subject to applicable data protection requirements.

Such a system could help regulators detect situations where the same person is improperly presented as a full time employee of multiple institutions.

Alausa said the principle should be one individual with one verifiable identity and an accurately declared institutional affiliation.

Accreditation could become continuous

Under the proposed reforms, accreditation would gradually become an ongoing quality assurance process rather than an event institutions prepare for every few years.

Universities, polytechnics and colleges of education could be required to continuously maintain verified information about staffing, laboratories, workshops, infrastructure and equipment on a national digital platform.

Physical inspections would remain part of accreditation.

However, the minister said visits should increasingly be used to validate information that regulators already possess rather than beginning the entire verification process when inspectors arrive.

The National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education and National Commission for Colleges of Education would consequently be able to develop a longer term record of each institution's capacity.

The government also wants a central digital platform that can serve as a single source of verified institutional information for education and professional regulatory bodies.

Alausa said some accreditation tools currently in use were developed decades ago and that differences between regulatory organisations had contributed to conflicts.

The Federal Ministry of Education has held discussions involving the three major tertiary education regulators and professional regulatory bodies.

The government is also awaiting advice from the Attorney General of the Federation on aspects of the proposed reforms.

FG raises alarm over illegal admissions

The accreditation overhaul is being accompanied by tougher measures against institutions admitting students outside approved procedures or beyond their authorised capacity.

Alausa said the number of students admitted illegally into Nigerian universities runs into the hundreds of thousands.

Other figures presented during the meeting put irregular admissions at more than 258,000 across universities and colleges of education.

At least 200,000 were estimated to involve universities, while about 58,000 were linked to colleges of education.

The government is particularly concerned about institutions exceeding the number of students they have been authorised to admit.

Alausa cited situations where an institution approved to admit about 100 students could ultimately enrol approximately 1,000.

Such enrolment, he argued, places excessive pressure on lecturers, classrooms, laboratories and other resources and ultimately affects the quality of graduates entering the labour market.

The minister warned that officials who fail to comply with admission and accreditation requirements could lose their jobs.

Private tertiary institutions could also have their operating licences withdrawn for serious regulatory violations.

“This Ministry of Education is not going to let this continue,” Alausa said.

The government says the tougher approach is intended to ensure that institutions admit only the number of students they have the personnel and infrastructure to train effectively.

Lecturers' tools allowance released

Alongside the accreditation reforms, the Federal Government has announced the release of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance for academic staff in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

The payment covers January through August 2026.

CATA provides financial support for academic staff to obtain tools and materials required for teaching, research and other academic activities.

Alausa said the payment was made in accordance with provisions of the 2025 agreement between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

“The Office of the Minister of Education is happy to announce that the full CATA payment has now been released by the Federal Government from January to August 2026 to all universities, all polytechnics and colleges of education,” he said.

Affected institutions have been notified to begin paying eligible academic staff.

The allowance forms part of the revised remuneration arrangements for academic staff negotiated between the government and ASUU.

The government has also said funding for payments involving non academic staff is being processed and could become available in the coming weeks.

Wider tertiary education reforms

The accreditation overhaul comes as the government attempts to address longstanding concerns about the quality of Nigerian tertiary education.

Regulators have repeatedly faced challenges involving institutions operating programmes without proper accreditation, exceeding approved student numbers and struggling to maintain sufficient academic staff and infrastructure.

The newly established ministerial committee has now been tasked with reviewing accreditation procedures used by the NUC, NBTE and NCCE and recommending practical ways to modernise them.

The government's proposed model would place greater emphasis on independently verifiable evidence rather than information supplied only when accreditation teams arrive.

If fully implemented, institutions could face continuous scrutiny of their staffing, facilities, equipment and student numbers.

For students, the reforms could also make it easier to establish whether a university, polytechnic or college has the resources and regulatory approval required to offer a particular programme.

Alausa said technology would be used to protect the integrity of the tertiary education system rather than simply digitise existing procedures.

The ultimate objective, according to the government, is an accreditation system that is credible, transparent, efficient and considerably more difficult to manipulate.