FG Approves 9 More Universities

The Federal Government has approved nine more universities across the country, bringing the total number of approved institutions over the past three years to 18, Punch reports.

Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, Minister of Education, confirmed the development and said that N1.3tn has been designated as an intervention grant through the National Empowerment and Development (NEEDS) Assessment Programme.

The minister stated that the approval came after engagements between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) with an agreement being reached regarding the allocation of funds.

Federal Government plans to provide N220bn to institutions over the next five years. This is said to be in addition to standard budgetary allocations made to universities annually.