Tinubu’s Education Changes: FG gives out ₦372.62bn in student loans, trains over 156,000 TVET students

The Federal Government has given out ₦372.62 billion in student loans. They have also provided free technical and vocational training to over 156,000 beneficiaries. This is part of President Bola Tinubu’s education reforms, according to the APC Presidential Campaign Council.

The council stated that these reforms have made education more accessible. They have also improved teachers’ welfare and made academic stability stronger in tertiary institutions.

On Wednesday, Dele Alake, the spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, released a press statement. The statement referred to the 2026 report from the Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), which is under the Federal Ministry of Education.

The report mentions that the reforms cover basic, secondary, technical, and tertiary education. They target six main areas: technical and vocational education, science and medical sciences, out-of-school children, girl-child education, digitalisation, and education quality assurance.

The Federal Government has set aside ₦3.52 trillion for education in the 2026 budget. They have also secured $552 million for the HOPE-EDU programme. This programme aims to help 29 million children, over 500,000 teachers, and 65,000 public schools.

The Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) programme has brought more than one million out-of-school children back to learning. It has also trained 1,400 Tsangaya teachers and set up 200 bilingual centres in 17 northern states.

The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) has reached 7.19 million girls. Out of this, 3.7 million are now enrolled in secondary schools. More than 10,000 schools have also received improvements in their facilities.

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has processed 1,659,853 student loan applications. They have given out ₦372.62 billion to students across 319 tertiary institutions. The money includes ₦192.89 billion for tuition and ₦179.73 billion for students’ upkeep.

In the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme, the government got over 2.8 million applications. Among these, 156,446 verified trainees received free training, monthly payments, and start-up support.

According to the statement, more than ₦65.7 billion has been given to trainees. ₦30.2 billion has gone to the training centres. The government has also rehabilitated 38 technical colleges. Free technical education covers tuition, boarding, textbooks, and uniforms.

The council mentioned that the government has updated the national curriculum. Nigerian History is back, and Civic and Heritage Studies have been strengthened. The National Learning Assessment has also been restored to check pupils’ performance and find learning gaps.

Under the EduRevamp initiative, 53,553 teachers have registered. Of these, 51,794 are in the first group of the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway. This six-month programme offers professional qualifications, certification, and licensing.

This initiative, which has ₦2 billion backing, aims to target 250,000 teachers by 2027. The council also claimed that the Tinubu administration has settled the long-standing issues with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). They have implemented an agreement giving a 40 percent increase in academic staff pay and better welfare benefits.

The Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund has given out ₦28 billion to 15,000 workers in 153 public institutions. This fund offers loans of up to ₦10 million to eligible staff for housing, healthcare, transportation, and education.

The Federal Government is investing ₦110 billion to improve 18 federal medical schools in all six geopolitical zones. Nursing enrollment has grown from 81,480 in 2023 to 114,300 in 2025.

The government has also approved 20 STEM-focused tertiary institutions and is planning to update 12 engineering and technology faculties. For research and innovation, the council said the government provides ₦365 million each year for the National Laureate Prize.

The Student Venture Capital Grant has given out over ₦2.5 billion to 45 student entrepreneurs. Each beneficiary can get up to ₦50 million in funding without having to pay it back. Entrepreneurship certification is ongoing in 14 federal universities. The Diaspora BRIDGE initiative has signed up 1,141 Nigerian experts abroad and reached 16,675 students in 107 tertiary institutions.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, stated that the success of these reforms will be judged by their effects on students, teachers, and institutions. He said, "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."