The Federal Government has disbursed ₦372.62 billion in student loans to beneficiaries across 319 tertiary institutions, while 156,446 trainees have enrolled in its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The government has also secured $552 million for basic education, rehabilitated 38 technical colleges and returned more than one million out-of-school children to the classroom as part of efforts to expand access to education and improve learning outcomes.
The figures were contained in the 2026 report of the Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), released by the Federal Ministry of Education, highlighting the administration’s interventions across basic, secondary and tertiary education.
The report identified six priority areas of the reforms: technical and vocational education, science and medical sciences, out-of-school children, girl-child education, digitalisation and quality assurance.
According to the report, the Federal Government allocated ₦3.52 trillion to education in the 2026 budget and secured $552 million for the HOPE-EDU programme, which targets 29 million children, more than 500,000 teachers and 65,000 public schools.
It further stated that the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) programme had returned more than one million out-of-school children to learning, trained 1,400 Tsangaya teachers and established 200 bilingual centres across 17 northern states.
The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) programme has also reached 7.19 million girls, with 3.7 million enrolled in secondary schools, while more than 10,000 schools have benefited from improved facilities.
On curriculum development, the report noted that the government had introduced a revised national curriculum, which includes the reintroduction of Nigerian History and the strengthening of Civic and Heritage Studies.
It added that the National Learning Assessment had been restored to monitor pupils’ academic performance and identify learning gaps.
Under the EduRevamp initiative, 53,553 teachers have registered, while 51,794 participated in the first cohort of the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway, a six-month programme designed to provide professional qualifications, certification and licensing.
The programme, supported with ₦2 billion, targets 250,000 teachers by 2027. The government has also introduced the Inspire Live initiative to provide online lessons for pupils from Primary One to Senior Secondary School Three, with support from certified teachers and artificial intelligence-assisted learning.
In the technical and vocational education sector, the TVET programme has attracted more than 2.8 million applications, with 156,446 verified trainees receiving free training, monthly stipends and start-up support.
The report disclosed that more than ₦65.7 billion had been disbursed to trainees, while an additional ₦30.2 billion had been released to training centres.
It also highlighted the rehabilitation of 38 technical colleges and the introduction of free technical education covering tuition, accommodation, textbooks and uniforms.
Similarly, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has processed 1,659,853 student loan applications and disbursed ₦372.62 billion to students in 319 tertiary institutions.
The disbursement comprises ₦192.89 billion for tuition fees and ₦179.73 billion for students’ upkeep allowances.
The report also cited 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 provides a 40 per cent increase in academic staff remuneration and improved welfare benefits.
In addition, the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund has disbursed ₦28 billion to 15,000 workers across 153 public institutions. The scheme provides eligible staff with loans of up to ₦10 million for housing, healthcare, transportation and education.
On medical and science education, the Federal Government is investing ₦110 billion in the rehabilitation of 18 federal medical schools across the six geopolitical zones.
Nursing enrolment also increased from 81,480 in 2023 to 114,300 in 2025, while 20 STEMM-focused tertiary institutions have been approved and 12 engineering and technology faculties are earmarked for rehabilitation.
The administration has also introduced initiatives to strengthen research, innovation and student entrepreneurship.
According to the report, ₦365 million is provided annually for research and innovation through the National Laureate Prize, while the Student Venture Capital Grant has disbursed more than ₦2.5 billion to 45 student entrepreneurs.
Each beneficiary is eligible for up to ₦50 million in equity-free funding.
Entrepreneurship certification programmes 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 reforms would be measured by their impact on students, teachers and educational institutions rather than the amount of money allocated 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.
The statement was signed by Dele Alake, spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, and dated November 4, 2026.
