APC: Tinubu’s education reforms return 1m children to school, disburse N372bn student loans

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has said that education reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu have facilitated the return of more than one million out-of-school children to classrooms, enabled the disbursement of N372.62 billion in student loans and expanded technical and vocational training opportunities for over 156,000 Nigerians.

The council also disclosed that the Federal Government had secured $552 million to strengthen basic education, rehabilitated 38 technical colleges and introduced measures aimed at improving teachers’ welfare, expanding access to quality education and stabilising the academic calendar in tertiary institutions.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, the spokesperson of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake, said the interventions formed part of the administration’s efforts to address longstanding challenges in Nigeria’s education sector, particularly poor access to schooling, inadequate infrastructure, shortage of qualified teachers and limited opportunities for young people to acquire employable skills.

Citing the Federal Ministry of Education’s Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) 2026 report, Alake said the administration had prioritised six critical areas, including technical and vocational education, science and medical sciences, out-of-school children, girl-child education, digitalisation and education quality assurance.

According to him, the interventions span basic and secondary education, technical and vocational training, tertiary education, research and innovation, with particular attention to disadvantaged children and young people who might otherwise be excluded from formal learning.

The council said the Federal Government allocated N3.52 trillion to education in the 2026 budget and secured $552 million for the HOPE-EDU programme, designed to improve learning opportunities for 29 million children, support more than 500,000 teachers and strengthen educational facilities across 65,000 public schools.

It disclosed that the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) programme had facilitated the return of over one million out-of-school children to learning, while 1,400 Tsangaya teachers had received training and 200 bilingual education centres established across 17 northern states.

The council said the interventions were particularly significant in addressing the educational exclusion of children in underserved communities, especially in the northern part of the country, where poverty, insecurity and other socioeconomic challenges have continued to affect school enrolment and attendance.

On girl-child education, the statement disclosed 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, while more than 10,000 schools had benefited from improved educational facilities.

Alake said the administration had also introduced curriculum reforms aimed at strengthening learning outcomes and promoting greater awareness of Nigeria’s history, culture and civic responsibilities.

He explained that the revised national curriculum had reintroduced Nigerian History and strengthened Civic and Heritage Studies, while the National Learning Assessment had been restored to monitor pupils’ performance, identify learning gaps and guide interventions.

On teacher development, the council disclosed that 53,553 teachers had registered under the EduRevamp initiative, while 51,794 joined the first cohort of the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP), a six-month programme designed to provide professional qualifications, certification and licensing.

It said the initiative, backed by N2 billion, was expected to reach 250,000 teachers by 2027, as part of efforts to improve teaching standards and strengthen the quality of instruction in public schools.

The council added that the Inspire Live initiative was providing online lessons for pupils from Primary One to Senior Secondary School Three, using certified teachers and artificial intelligence-assisted learning tools to complement conventional classroom instruction.

On technical and vocational education, the APC campaign council said the Federal Government’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme had attracted more than 2.8 million applications, reflecting what it described as growing interest among Nigerians in practical skills acquisition and entrepreneurship.

According to the statement, 156,446 verified trainees had benefited from free training, monthly stipends and start-up support, while more than N65.7 billion had been disbursed to trainees and another N30.2 billion released to training centres.

It said the government had rehabilitated 38 technical colleges and introduced free technical education covering tuition, boarding, textbooks and uniforms, with the objective of removing financial barriers and equipping young Nigerians with skills relevant to the labour market.

The council maintained that the emphasis on vocational training was intended to bridge the gap between formal education and employment opportunities, promote entrepreneurship and reduce the number of young people leaving school without practical skills.

On tertiary education, Alake said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), one of the administration’s flagship programmes, had processed 1,659,853 student loan applications and disbursed N372.62 billion across 319 tertiary institutions.

He explained that N192.89 billion of the amount was disbursed for tuition, while N179.73 billion went towards students’ upkeep allowances, providing financial assistance to beneficiaries who might otherwise struggle to meet the cost of higher education.

The council said the programme was designed to ensure that financial difficulties did not prevent qualified Nigerians from pursuing university, polytechnic and other tertiary education opportunities.

It also claimed that the administration had resolved the longstanding dispute with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and implemented an agreement providing for a 40 per cent increase in academic staff remuneration alongside improved welfare benefits.

According to the statement, the measures had contributed to greater stability in the academic calendar and improved conditions for teaching and learning in tertiary institutions.

The council further disclosed that the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund had disbursed N28 billion to 15,000 workers across 153 public institutions, with eligible employees able to access loans of up to N10 million for housing, healthcare, transportation and education.

On medical and scientific education, the statement said the administration was investing N110 billion in the rehabilitation of 18 federal medical schools across the six geopolitical zones as part of efforts to expand the country’s capacity to train healthcare professionals.

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

The council added that 12 engineering and technology faculties had been earmarked for rehabilitation to strengthen practical instruction, research capabilities and technological innovation.

In the area of research and entrepreneurship, Alake 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.

He explained that beneficiaries could access up to N50 million each in equity-free funding to support innovative business ideas and encourage students to translate their research and entrepreneurial initiatives into commercially viable ventures.

The council also disclosed that entrepreneurship certification was ongoing in 14 federal universities, while the Diaspora BRIDGE initiative had registered 1,141 Nigerian experts living abroad and reached 16,675 students across 107 tertiary institutions.

It said the initiative was designed to connect Nigerian students and institutions with expertise in the diaspora, strengthen knowledge transfer and expand opportunities for mentorship, research collaboration and professional development.

The APC campaign council maintained that the combined interventions demonstrated the administration’s commitment to making education more accessible, improving the quality of instruction and preparing young Nigerians for opportunities in an increasingly competitive global economy.

It quoted the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, as saying that the ultimate test of the reforms would not be the volume of public expenditure or the number of initiatives announced, but their practical impact on students, 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,” Alausa said.

The council said the government would continue to pursue initiatives aimed at strengthening educational infrastructure, improving learning outcomes, expanding access to skills training and ensuring that more Nigerian children and young people benefited from opportunities across the education system.