The National Universities Commission (NUC) has jacked up the application fee for establishing private universities in Nigeria by over 400%.

The commission’s Executive Secretary, Abdullahi Ribadu, in a statement, said the price hike is for better coordination and to ensure that newly established private universities are positioned to meet the challenges of the 21st Century.

The NUC increased the fee for purchase of application forms for the Establishment of a Private University from N1m to N5m. The Commission also raised the processing fee for application for the establishment of a private university from N5m to N25m.

The NUC said the N25m reviewed fee would be communicated to applicants who have purchased the application form at the former rate of N1m but are yet to pay the processing fee for their application. The Commission also suspended further processing of all inactive applications including those of private open universities.