The National Universities Commission (NUC) has increased the application fee for establishing private universities in Nigeria from N5 million to N25 million, marking a 400% rise. Abdullahi Ribadu, the Executive Secretary of the NUC, explained that the fee hike is intended to improve coordination and ensure that new private universities are adequately prepared for 21st-century challenges.
This follows a previous increase in the cost of application forms for setting up private universities, which rose from N1 million to N5 million. Along with the form fee, the processing fee has now been raised to N25 million.
The NUC clarified that applicants who purchased the application form at the previous N1 million rate but have not yet paid the processing fee will be informed of the new N25 million fee. They are required to make the payment within 30 working days to avoid having their applications canceled.
Since 1999, the Federal Government has approved the establishment of 149 private universities based on the NUC’s recommendations.
