President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Federal Ministry of Education to stagger the take-off of some of the federal tertiary institutions established by the previous administration.
The Minister of Education, Dr Mamman Tahir, disclosed this to State House reporters on Wednesday after meeting with the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The minister, who said the decision was based on some considerations, including funding, infrastructure, staff recruitment and all other needs.
He added that he visited President Tinubu to update him on developments in his ministry, including issues surrounding a stakeholders’ conference scheduled for today (Thursday), appointments of heads of agencies and boards of tertiary institutions.
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On the plan for take-off of the federal institutions established towards the end of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, Tahir said about six specialised institutions focused on areas like education, agriculture and medicine.
Asked if the current administration would be scaling down on the number of universities’ approvals, the minister most of the institutions approved towards the end of the last administration’s life time were private and would not be tampered with by Tinubu, but said the era of proliferation of institutions without capacity to make them productive had ended.
On financial autonomy for universities, he said it is an ongoing conversation, but noted that the funds are not there for government to deploy, adding that in other parts, funding education is a collaborative effort among government, parents, students and other stakeholders.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education will be assembling stakeholders in the sector to discuss and fashion out a new roadmap for education under the current administration.
Tahir who disclosed this during the briefing, also said President Tinubu would be unveiling the document to be produced from the gathering as soon as it is ready.
The minister mentioned that the President also approved the completion of the National Library which has been projected to be completed in 21 months as the nation’s depository.
