The National Universities Commission (NUC) has raised the application fee for establishing private universities in Nigeria from N5 million to N25 million, marking a 400% increase.
In a statement on Monday, the Executive Secretary of the NUC, Abdullahi Ribadu, explained that the fee hike aims to improve coordination and ensure that newly established private universities are equipped to meet 21st-century challenges.
This development follows a previous increment, where the fee for purchasing application forms for private universities rose from N1 million to N5 million. Now, the processing fee has also surged from N5 million to N25 million.
According to the regulatory body, the reviewed N25 million fee will be communicated to applicants who have purchased the application form at the previous rate of N1 million but are yet to pay the processing fee.
“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 NUC revealed that, since 1999, the Federal Government has approved the establishment of 149 private universities based on its recommendations.
