The pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Olugbemiro Jegede, has warned that some private universities in the country are being run primarily as profit-driven ventures rather than academic institutions, a trend he said could lead to their eventual collapse.
Jegede raised the concern on Thursday in Abuja while delivering a public lecture organised by the Federal Government College (FGC), Warri, as part of activities marking the school’s 60th anniversary.
His remarks come at a time when thousands of prospective candidates are preparing to sit for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and other admission-related examinations conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), amid persistent pressure on limited university spaces nationwide.
The Emeritus Professor noted that many universities lack the capacity to admit significant numbers of students, worsening access to tertiary education.
He said, “I think we are almost getting to 200 institutions now. Given the population of Nigeria, we don’t have enough universities. Even the ones we have, their carrying capacity is very low.
“Many of these universities cannot take more than 1,000 or 2,000, whatever it is. That is why we are still having problems. In fact, some private universities don’t have more than 500 students. Many will soon close down because of the way they are running it.”
Jegede said the problem stems largely from the misconception by some proprietors that universities should generate quick profits.
“Many people who set up these private tertiary institutions believe that it is a business venture. As soon as they set it up, next month they are asking, where’s the money?”
He stressed that establishing a university requires long-term commitment and patience.
“But people don’t know that when you start a private university, it will take you between seven and 10 years to break even. So things need to change.”
The former NOUN vice-chancellor also advocated a shift toward open and distance learning as a more sustainable solution to Nigeria’s growing demand for higher education.
“Again, why establish physical schools when you can establish open universities? That’s what this country needs now.”
Citing the impact of NOUN since its establishment in 2002/2003, he said, “The National Open University of Nigeria, which was set up in 2002 / 2003 now has close to 750,000 graduates who have gone through the system.”
The immediate past secretary general, Association of African Universities contrasted this with conventional universities.
“That’s just one university. The biggest face-to-face university in this country will not have more than 40,000 or 50,000 students. So you can imagine how many universities will need to cater for the number that the National Open University is doing today,” he stated.
According to him, Nigeria would require nearly 30 conventional universities to match NOUN’s output.
Beyond tertiary education, Jegede expressed concern over the declining state of unity schools, particularly Federal Government Colleges, attributing much of the problem to insecurity.
He identified insecurity as the most pressing challenge undermining the ideals of national integration for which the schools were established.
Echoing his concerns, the Global President of the FGC World Students Association, Dr Godwin Alo, said insecurity was eroding diversity and unity within the schools.
Alo noted that security challenges were discouraging students from certain parts of the country from enrolling.
He said, “I agree with Prof Jegede’s presentation on the problems with the Nigerian educational system. That’s the reality. So if you say you are a unity school and due to security challenges, you’re losing that feel of unity in terms of the diversity of the students, then you have to tell yourself the truth.”
The president also cited the impact on student associations nationwide.
According to him, declining enrolment from some regions threatens the survival of national networks formed by alumni.
“But when you don’t have students from those branches coming down to Warri, those branches will die a natural death. So if we need to address that, we need to start from those root causes. I am talking about stuff like insecurity.
“For any nation, once you’re not secure, you have no nation. That’s the reality because it’s going to stifle so many things,” he stressed.
