Satellite Campuses: Education Minister Goes Tough, Warns VCs to Halt Proliferation

KuniTyessiin Abuja

The federal government says it would henceforth impose tough sanctions on any federal university that establishes a satellite campus without prior approval from the Federal Ministry of Education.

It would be recalled that several of such satellite campuses have been established in the country, thereby infringing on previous regulations and violating the approved guidelines for creation of such as set out by the National Universities Commission, NUC.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, in a memo to the NUC, dated May 30, 2025, warned that satellite campuses established without prior approval through the Commission will face sanctions.

“This to inform all Federal Universities that no satellite campus be established without prior approval of the Honourable Minister of Education through the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, NUC. Failure to comply will attract sanction.”

The memo also noted that there has been, “A noticeable and concerning trend of Federal Universities establishing satellite campuses across the country. Many of these campuses are created without clear strategic, academic or infrastructural justifications.

“It is also pertinent to note that instead of investing in and expanding the capacity of existing main campuses, some Vice Chancellors are opting for the creation of new one which in most cases are often inadequately resourced. This practice undermines the integrity, quality and sustainability of tertiary education in Nigeria,” the minister noted

Before now, the NUC had also in the past set up a committee that advised on the closure of such illegal universities and campuses as NUC mandated the Committee to identify, locate and prosecute such illegalities.

In 2021, the Committee was reconstituted recording what the NUC then described as a huge success.

But since then, some universities have continued to establish more satellite campuses which are often underfunded and under-resourced, lacking the necessary infrastructure, staff, and resources to provide quality education.