No plans to privatize public universities, says FG

By Kunle Sanni

The Federal Government has dismissed claims that it intends to hand over public universities to private investors, describing the allegations as baseless and unfounded.

Minister of Education Tahir Mamman addressed these allegations on Tuesday in Abuja during the second quarterly engagement of the ministry with heads of units and chief executive officers of its parastatals and agencies.

Mamman clarified that there is no intention to privatize public universities, according to a report published by Vreporters on Tuesday.

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had previously accused the Federal Government of planning to transfer federal universities to investors through public-private partnerships. Mamman strongly refuted these claims, emphasizing that the government has no such plans.

He further explained that the policy of transnational education should not be misinterpreted as a move to privatize universities. The current administration introduced the transnational education policy to enhance tertiary education by inviting global investments into Nigeria’s education system.

He said, “Some people are carrying information that the federal government is selling off its universities to private investors. This is an absolute lie and completely false.”

“This government believes in our public institutions. However, as we all know, this government has reforms that this country needs. The private sector will play a major role in the provision of tertiary education, as there are more private universities in Nigeria than public universities combined. What this government has done is open up the tertiary education level, in particular the universities, for global competitiveness,” Mamman stated.