By Ajibola Olaide, JKNewsMedia Reporter
MORE THAN 1.6 million student loan applications have been processed, while over 156,000 trainees have received support under the Federal Government’s education interventions, as the President Bola Tinubu administration reports progress across Nigeria’s education system.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the figures form part of the achievements outlined in the Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) 2026 report released by the Federal Ministry of Education.
The FG’s report also highlights government interventions spanning basic and secondary education, technical and vocational training, and tertiary institutions.
Reacting to the reported achievements, Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the success of the reforms should be judged by the difference they make in the lives of students, teachers and educational institutions, rather than the volume of government funding or the number of programmes introduced.
He stated that the administration’s education agenda covers six priority areas: technical and vocational education, science and medical sciences, out-of-school children, girl-child education, digitalisation and education quality assurance.
Under the 2026 budget, Alausa said the FG allocated N3.52 trillion to education and secured $552 million for the HOPE-EDU programme and added that the initiative targets 29 million children, more than 500,000 teachers and 65,000 public schools.
On efforts to bring children back into classrooms, Alausa said this has also recorded progress through the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) programme, which has returned more than one million out-of-school children to learning.
The initiative has also trained 1,400 Tsangaya teachers and established 200 bilingual centres across 17 northern states.
Moreover, Alausa said the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) has reached 7.19 million girls, including 3.7 million enrolled in secondary schools as more than 10,000 schools have also benefited from improved facilities.
The minister added that changes to the national curriculum form another part of the government’s intervention, saying that the revised curriculum restores Nigerian History and strengthens Civic and Heritage Studies, while the National Learning Assessment (NLA) has been reintroduced to track pupils’ performance and identify gaps in learning.
He revealed that teacher development has equally received attention through the EduRevamp programme, which has registered 53,553 teachers. Of these, 51,794 joined the first cohort of the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP), a six-month initiative designed to provide professional qualifications, certification and licensing.
Supported by N2 billion, Alausa said the programme aims to reach 250,000 teachers by 2027. Meanwhile, the Inspire Live initiative delivers online lessons from Primary One to Senior Secondary School Three, with certified teachers and artificial intelligence-assisted learning supporting instruction.
Technical and vocational education has attracted more than 2.8 million applications, with 156,446 verified trainees enrolled in the programme. Beneficiaries receive free training, monthly stipends and start-up support.
The government has disbursed more than N65.7 billion directly to trainees, alongside N30.2 billion to training centres, Alausa said, and said it has also rehabilitated 38 technical colleges and introduced free technical education covering tuition, boarding, textbooks and uniforms.
At the tertiary level, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has processed 1,659,853 student loan applications and disbursed N372.62 billion.
The amount comprises N192.89 billion for tuition and N179.73 billion for students’ upkeep allowances across 319 tertiary institutions.
The report also highlights efforts to address industrial disputes in universities. The administration has resolved the longstanding disagreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and implemented an agreement providing a 40 per cent increase in academic staff remuneration alongside improved welfare benefits.
Another intervention, the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund, has disbursed n28 billion to 15,000 workers across 153 public institutions.
The education minister also said that eligible staff can access loans of up to N10 million to meet housing, healthcare, transportation and educational needs.
Medical and science education have also featured in the government’s investment plans, with N110 billion earmarked for the rehabilitation of 18 federal medical schools across the six geopolitical zones.
Nursing enrolment increased from 81,480 in 2023 to 114,300 in 2025 as the government has also approved 20 tertiary institutions focused on science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine, while targeting the rehabilitation of 12 engineering and technology faculties.
On research, innovation and student entrepreneurship constitute another area of intervention, he said the FG provides N365 million annually for research and innovation through the National Laureate Prize (NLP).
Through the Student Venture Capital Grant, more than N2.5 billion has gone to 45 student entrepreneurs, with each beneficiary eligible for up to N50 million in equity-free funding, the Minister reiterated.
In the meantime, entrepreneurship certification is also underway in 14 federal universities, while the Diaspora BRIDGE initiative has registered 1,141 Nigerian experts living abroad and reached 16,675 students across 107 tertiary institutions, Alausa said.
Also commenting on the reported progress, Alausa, said the administration would assess its education reforms by the tangible improvements they deliver to learners, teachers and educational institutions.
“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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