The Federal Ministry of Education says it has not issued any directive for schools across the country to shut down on November 24, 2025. In a statement on Saturday, the ministry described a report circulating on social media alleging a nationwide shutdown as false and misleading. It noted that it did not originate from the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of Education, any State Ministry of Education, or any recognised security agency. The disclaimer, signed by the ministry’s spokesperson, Folasade Boriowo, urged members of the public to rely strictly on verified information from official channels. “Any announcement, advisory, or notice coming from unofficial or unverified sources should be ignored and not shared. Members of the public are urged to always verify the authenticity of information before circulating it in order to curb the spread of misinformation,” the statement read. The ministry stated that only communications from the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of Education, State Governments, and recognised security agencies should be considered authentic. The clarification follows the Federal Government’s announcement on Friday ordering the closure of 41 federal secondary schools in high-risk areas following a spate of abductions in Niger and Kebbi States. THENEWSCREDIT had reported that some states, including Kwara, Plateau, Katsina, and Niger, shut down schools amid rising insecurity, while Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, also directed all public and private schools to deboard their students with immediate effect

Aare Afe Babalola, legal luminary and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, has called on the National Universities Commission to revisit its accreditation procedures and clamp down on illegal and substandard private universities across Nigeria. As reported by Vanguard on Tuesday, Babalola made the appeal while welcoming the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria Accreditation Team to ABUAD, stressing that Nigeria deserves the best in higher education and should not tolerate mediocrity. He said, ”ABUAD is a non-for profit private university where nobody has shares. Whatever extra money made is always ploughed back into the university. “As at today, the valuation of the University is put at over N300 billion. When you go round, you will see for yourself: the hospital, the farm, the industrial park, the colleges, and the serene campus. “According to the World Bank, the three objectives of a university properly so called are: quality teaching, quality research, and community service. We are proud that we have been excelling in all these three parameters.” Babalola also lamented the proliferation of illegal universities, urging regulators to take decisive action. “Previously, the NUC used to insist on prior visitation to permanent sites of proposed universities before approval. They will look at the buildings, number, and quality of teachers among other parameters before approval. There is a long list of illegal private universities in Nigeria today. “I would like the NUC to seriously consider closing such illegal universities down and arrest their owners. This country deserves the best and should therefore not tolerate substandard education.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Akure Zone, has accused the Federal Government of misrepresenting the status of negotiations with the union, adding that newly established universities are mere “crises centres.” Addressing journalists on the campus of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Thursday, the ASUU Akure Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Adeola Egbedokun, said that despite the seven-year moratorium placed by the Federal Government on the establishment of new universities, it still went ahead to announce new institutions. THENEWSCREDIT earlier reported that the Federal Government approved a seven-year freeze on creating new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, following concerns over the proliferation of under-utilised institutions, overstretched resources, and declining academic quality. The moratorium was approved at a Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, after a presentation by Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu Alausa. However, despite the moratorium, nine new universities — including the institution in Epe — received approval. Egbedokun, flanked by ASUU chairmen from the seven branches under the Akure Zone, expressed concern that while existing universities remained poorly funded, the Federal Government continued to approve new ones, even after announcing a freeze on such approvals. He said, “A few months back, the government came up with a kind of moratorium of seven years (on the establishment of new tertiary institutions). One of the agitations of our union is this issue of proliferation of universities, especially at the Federal and state levels and we were coming from the point of view that rather than proliferate, why not take care of the existing ones? “It was agreed that for seven years, no license will be granted to any university again, but we all saw what happened a few days ago when we heard that a new university was granted a license. I think the government of Nigeria should live up to its words. Let your yes be yes and no be no. Is seven years the same thing as seven days?” Reviewing the renegotiation process since the suspension of ASUU’s warning strike, Egbedokun stated that the National Executive Council rejected the salary adjustment proposed by the Federal Government, describing it as “a tokenistic and insulting gesture.”

The Federal Government has scrapped the national policy mandating the use of indigenous languages as the medium of instruction in Nigerian schools. The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the cancellation on Wednesday at the 2025 Language in Education International Conference, organised by the British Council in Abuja. THENEWSCREDIT gathered that the cancellation was approved at the 69th meeting of the National Council on Education, held in Akure, Ondo State, from November 3 to 7. The policy, approved in 2022 as the National Language Policy, stipulated that children from Early Childhood Education to Primary Six should be taught in their mother tongue or the language of the immediate community. The policy aimed to promote indigenous languages, recognise their equal status, and improve early childhood learning outcomes, while English remained the official language for later education and formal settings. Speaking at the conference, Alausa said English would now be the language of instruction across all levels of education, from primary through tertiary. He attributed the decision to data showing poor academic performance in areas where mother-tongue instruction had been emphasised. “We have seen a mass failure rate in WAEC, NECO, and JAMB in certain geo-political zones of the country, and those are the ones that adopted the mother tongue in an oversubscribed manner. “This is about evidence-based governance. English now stands as the medium of instruction from pre-primary, primary, junior secondary, senior secondary, and tertiary education,” he said. Alausa added, “Using the mother tongue language in Nigeria for the past 15 years has literally destroyed education in certain regions. We have to talk about evidence, not emotions.” He noted that data from schools across the country indicated students taught primarily in indigenous languages had higher failure rates in national examinations and struggled with basic English comprehension. “The national policy on language has been cancelled. English now stands as the medium of instruction across all levels of education,” Alausa declared. The minister encouraged stakeholders with differing views to present verifiable data to support their positions and stressed that the government remains open to evidence-based dialogue to strengthen the education sector. He also commended the British Council for its ongoing partnership with Nigeria in advancing education reforms and promoting inclusive language and learning policies. Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmed, said the government is implementing other measures to address learning challenges at the foundational level. “Now we are designing a training package for teachers that focuses on literacy and numeracy,. “This specifically targets teachers of pre-primary to Primary One to Three. We are training them on the best methods to teach literacy and numeracy and the appropriate approach to classroom learning,” she said. The British Council Country Director, Donna McGowan, reaffirmed the council’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s education reforms. “We’re committed to working hand-in-hand with the ministry. We work across all areas of education in terms of supporting teacher professional development, school leadership, and language proficiency,” McGowan said.