President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has recorded progress in expanding access to education, improving teachers’ welfare and strengthening academic stability across Nigeria’s educational institutions, according to the Federal Government’s 2026 Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) report.
The report, released through the Federal Ministry of Education, highlighted interventions covering basic and secondary education, technical and vocational training, and tertiary education.
It identified six priority areas of the reforms: technical and vocational education, science and medical sciences, out-of-school children, girl-child education, digitalization and education quality assurance.
According to the report, the Federal Government allocated a record N3.52 trillion to education in the 2026 budget and secured $552 million for the HOPE-EDU program, which targets 29 million children, more than 500,000 teachers and 65,000 public schools.
The report stated that the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) program had returned more than one million out-of-school children to classrooms, trained 1,400 Tsangaya teachers and established 200 bilingual learning centres across 17 northern states.
It added that the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) program had reached 7.19 million girls, with 3.7 million enrolled in secondary schools, while more than 10,000 schools had benefited from improved facilities.
Curriculum Reform, Teacher Development
On curriculum reform and teachers’ professional development, the report said the administration had introduced a revised national curriculum that reintroduced Nigerian History and strengthened Civic and Heritage Studies.
It also noted that the National Learning Assessment had been restored to monitor pupils’ academic performance and identify learning gaps.
Under the EduRevamp initiative, 53,553 teachers had registered, while 51,794 joined the first cohort of the Accelerated Teacher Professionalization Pathway (ATPP), a six-month program designed to provide professional qualifications, certification and licensing.
The program, backed by N2 billion, targets 250,000 teachers by 2027.
The report further highlighted the Inspire Live initiative, which provides online lessons from Primary One to Senior Secondary School Three through certified teachers and artificial intelligence-assisted learning.
TVET Program Records 156,446 Beneficiaries
In the technical and vocational education sector, the report disclosed that the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) program had attracted more than 2.8 million applications, with 156,446 verified trainees benefiting from free training, monthly stipends and start-up support.
It said more than N65.7 billion had been disbursed to trainees, while another N30.2 billion had gone to training centres.
The government had also rehabilitated 38 technical colleges and introduced free technical education covering tuition, boarding, textbooks and uniforms.
NELFUND Disburses N372.62bn in Student Loans
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), described as one of the administration’s flagship education interventions, has processed 1,659,853 student loan applications and disbursed N372.62 billion.
The amount comprises 192.89 billion for tuition fees and N179.73 billion for students’ upkeep allowances across 319 tertiary institutions.
The report also highlighted the resolution of the longstanding dispute between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), alongside the implementation of an agreement that provided a 40 per cent increase in academic staff remuneration and improved welfare benefits.
Additionally, the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund had disbursed N28 billion to 15,000 workers across 153 public institutions.
The scheme provides eligible staff with loans of up to N10 million to support housing, healthcare, transportation and educational needs.
N110bn Investment in Medical, STEM Education
On medical and science education, the report said the Federal Government was investing N110 billion to rehabilitate 18 federal medical schools across the six geopolitical zones.
It added that nursing enrolment increased from 81,480 in 2023 to 114,300 in 2025.
The government had also approved 20 science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM)-focused tertiary institutions, while 12 engineering and technology faculties were targeted for rehabilitation.
N2.5bn Disbursed to Student Entrepreneurs
The report further highlighted government interventions in research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
It said the Federal Government had provided N365 million annually for research and innovation through the National Laureate Prize, while the Student Venture Capital Grant had disbursed more than N2.5 billion to 45 student entrepreneurs.
Each beneficiary is eligible to receive up to N50 million in equity-free funding.
Entrepreneurship certification programs are also 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.
Speaking on the achievements, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the success of the Tinubu administration’s education reforms should be measured by their impact on students, teachers and educational institutions rather than the amount of money allocated or the number of programs introduced.
“Our measure of success is not merely the amount of money allocated to education or the number of programs introduced. It is the difference these interventions make in the lives of our children, students, teachers and institutions,” Alausa said.
