Tinubu’s Education Reforms Return Over One Million Out-of-School Children to Learning – Alake

President Bola Tinubu’s education sector reforms have returned more than one million out-of-school children to learning, according to the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council Spokesperson, Dele Alake.

Alake disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, citing the Federal Ministry of Education’s Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) 2026 report.

He said the reforms had also expanded access to education, improved teachers’ welfare and helped stabilise the academic calendar across tertiary institutions.

According to Alake, the interventions cover basic and secondary education, technical and vocational training, and tertiary education, with six priority areas: technical and vocational education, science and medical sciences, out-of-school children, girl-child education, digitalisation and education quality assurance.

₦3.52tn Allocated to Education

The NESRI report indicated that the Federal Government allocated ₦3.52 trillion to education in the 2026 budget and secured $552 million for the HOPE-EDU programme.

The programme targets 29 million children, more than 500,000 teachers and 65,000 public schools.

Alake said the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) programme had returned over one million out-of-school children to classrooms, trained 1,400 Tsangaya teachers and established 200 bilingual centres across 17 northern states.

He added that the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) programme had reached 7.19 million girls, with 3.7 million enrolled in secondary schools. More than 10,000 schools have also benefited from improved facilities.

Curriculum Reform and Teacher Development

The report highlighted the introduction of a revised national curriculum that reintroduces Nigerian History and strengthens Civic and Heritage Studies. The National Learning Assessment has also been restored to monitor pupils’ performance and identify learning gaps.

Under the EduRevamp initiative, 53,553 teachers have registered, while 51,794 joined the first cohort of the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP).

The six-month programme provides professional qualifications, certification and licensing. Backed by ₦2 billion, it targets 250,000 teachers by 2027.

Alake also highlighted the Inspire Live initiative, which provides online lessons from Primary One to Senior Secondary School Three, supported by certified teachers and artificial intelligence-assisted learning.

TVET Programme Records Over 156,000 Beneficiaries

According to Alake, the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) scheme has attracted more than 2.8 million applications, with 156,446 verified trainees receiving free training, monthly stipends and start-up support.

He said over ₦65.7 billion had been disbursed to trainees, while another ₦30.2 billion had gone to training centres.

The government has also rehabilitated 38 technical colleges and introduced free technical education covering tuition, boarding, textbooks and uniforms.

NELFUND Disburses ₦372.62bn in Student Loans

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has processed 1,659,853 student loan applications and disbursed ₦372.62 billion across 319 tertiary institutions, according to the report.

The amount comprises ₦192.89 billion for tuition and ₦179.73 billion for students’ upkeep allowances.

Alake also said the administration had resolved the longstanding dispute with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), implementing an agreement that provided for a 40 per cent increase in academic staff remuneration and improved welfare benefits.

Additionally, the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund has disbursed ₦28 billion to 15,000 workers across 153 public institutions, offering eligible staff loans of up to ₦10 million for housing, healthcare, transportation and education.

Investment in Medical and STEMM Education

The Federal Government is investing ₦110 billion in the rehabilitation of 18 federal medical schools across the six geopolitical zones.

The report also indicated that nursing enrolment increased from 81,480 in 2023 to 114,300 in 2025, while 20 science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medical sciences (STEMM)-focused tertiary institutions have been approved.

Another 12 engineering and technology faculties are targeted for rehabilitation.

Research, Innovation and Student Entrepreneurship

Alake said the government had provided ₦365 million annually for research and innovation through the National Laureate Prize.

The Student Venture Capital Grant has also disbursed more than ₦2.5 billion to 45 student entrepreneurs, with each beneficiary eligible for up to ₦50 million in equity-free funding.

Entrepreneurship certification is ongoing in 14 federal universities, while the Diaspora BRIDGE initiative has registered 1,141 Nigerian experts abroad and reached 16,675 students across 107 tertiary institutions.

Commenting on the reported achievements, Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said the impact of the reforms should be measured by the difference they make in the lives of students, teachers and institutions, rather than solely by budgetary allocations or the number of programmes introduced.

“Our measure of success is not merely the amount of money allocated to education or the number of programmes introduced. It is the difference these interventions make in the lives of our children, students, teachers and institutions,” he said.

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