ONYXOperating in NigeriaEnter Terminal
← All operating procedures
People & practiceEducationNigeria

Establish a private university (NUC)

Obtain an NUC licence to establish a private university via the 14-step SCOPU process: declaration of intent → application & documents → interactive meeting & verification visits → 3-year Provisional Licence.

Procedure
4steps
Coordination
2agencies
Category
People & practiceEducation
Task links

Go to the exact next page

Application, requirements, forms, fees, and tracking are labelled separately.

RequirementsRead the National Universities Commission (NUC) service pageNational Universities Commission (NUC) · nuc.edu.ng
Routing map

Who you will deal with

National Universities Commission (NUC)NUC — DEPU
Procedure

The steps, in order

Each route below is scoped to the step it can actually complete.

  1. 01

    Submit a Declaration of Intent

    Agency
    National Universities Commission (NUC)
    What is required
    Submit a Declaration of Intent stating the proposed university's name, location, mission/vision, nature and focal niche in the Nigerian University System.
    Documents
    Declaration of Intent; promoter details
    Typical timeline
    Intent stage
    Use for this step
  2. 02

    Collect and submit application forms

    Agency
    National Universities Commission (NUC)
    What is required
    Collect the set of 10 application forms in person and submit them with the draft Academic Briefs, draft Masterplan and draft University Law, a ₦5,000,000 non-refundable processing fee (bank draft) and a ₦200,000,000 Bank Guarantee of funds.
    Documents
    Application forms; academic brief; masterplan; university law; ₦5m fee; ₦200m guarantee
    Typical timeline
    Application stage
    Use for this step
  3. 03

    Interactive meeting and verification visits

    Agency
    NUC — DEPU
    What is required
    Attend the interactive meeting with the Planning & Implementation Committee; NUC conducts verification visits to the campus site and professional departments review the documents.
    Documents
    Committee; campus site; documentation
    Typical timeline
    Review & verification
    Use for this step
  4. 04

    Provisional Licence

    Agency
    National Universities Commission (NUC)
    What is required
    On approval, a 3-year Provisional Licence is granted to the Proprietor; satisfactory performance during probation earns a substantive Licence.
    Documents
    Successful verification
    Typical timeline
    3-year provisional licence
    Use for this step
People & practice
EducationEstablish a private schoolLabourObtain a recruiter's licence (private employment agency)ProfessionalRegister to practise engineering (COREN)