The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, has come under scrutiny after asserting that the National Open University of Nigeria is the only institution approved to offer university degrees through open and online learning in Nigeria, a claim that contradicts current records held by the National Universities Commission.

Ahmad made the statement during an interview with DCL English aired on Thursday, telling viewers that NOUN occupied a unique and exclusive regulatory position among Nigerian universities.

"In Nigeria, the National Open University (NOUN) is recognised, as it has all the instrumentality of ensuring quality education. It's accredited and follows due process. So, we recognised the NOUN to run online programmes. But in the country for now, that is the only recognised institution running online degree programmes," she said.

NUC records, however, tell a different story. The commission has approved 34 universities to operate accredited Open and Distance eLearning centres across the country, spanning federal, state and private institutions. Among the approved universities are the University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ahmadu Bello University, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Covenant University and Bayero University Kano.

The NUC has also licensed private open universities operating as single mode institutions. A bulletin published by the commission on February 24, 2025 listed five approved open universities: NOUN, Miva Open University and Al Muhibbah Open University in Abuja; Iconic Open University in Sokoto; and West Midland Open University in Ibadan, Oyo State. The same bulletin confirmed 29 approved distance learning centres across 26 conventional universities.

Education stakeholders have since described the minister's remarks as misleading, warning that the comments risk damaging the credibility of licensed institutions and creating confusion among prospective students, employers and the wider public.

Analysts note the minister's claim would have held if limited to describing NOUN as Nigeria's only single mode federal open and distance learning university. That distinction, however, was absent from her statement.

The Federal Ministry of Education is yet to respond to the criticism.