WorldStage—The Federal Government of Nigeria has invested over ₦1 trillion in the past two years to transform tertiary education through unprecedented investments in infrastructure, specialised training facilities and modern learning environments.
The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is expanding access in higher education by removing the financial barriers that have long prevented many qualified Nigerians from pursuing their academic aspirations.
Speaking during a meeting with members of the National Commitee for the advancement of occupational therapy, audiology and speech therapy education, he said the administration’s reforms are designed to ensure that every qualified Nigerian, regardless of economic background, has access to quality higher education while strengthening universities, polytechnics and colleges of education to produce the skilled workforce needed to drive national development and economic growth.
Alausa said President Tinubu has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to investing in Nigeria’s greatest asset, its people, through bold policies and sustained investments that are expanding educational opportunities and improving the quality of tertiary education across the country.
“This President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has opened up access to students so that not having money, or coming from an indigent family, or your parents being poor, will no longer stop you from achieving the opportunities you can achieve in life. Education is no longer a barrier for students in this country.”
He described the President’s education reforms as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future through human capital development.
“We thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for believing in the youth of this country and giving them all the opportunities for them to excel, to be useful to themselves, to be useful to their communities, to be useful to the country and to the global world at large.”
The Minister said students have emerged among the greatest beneficiaries of the Renewed Hope Agenda, with the Federal Government backing its commitment to quality education through unprecedented investments aimed at improving learning conditions and expanding institutional capacity.
According to him, the Federal Government has invested ₦250 billion in the construction of new student hostels across tertiary institutions, significantly improving accommodation and creating more conducive learning environments.
He added that over ₦150 billion has been committed to rehabilitating existing hostels, classrooms, engineering workshops and other academic facilities to strengthen teaching, learning and research.
Highlighting the administration’s commitment to medical education, Dr Alausa disclosed that more than ₦130 billion has been invested in rehabilitating medical schools and expanding their training capacity nationwide.
He further stated that another ₦52 billion has been committed to providing modern equipment for 18 medical schools, while nearly ₦30 billion has been invested in establishing 11 state-of-the-art medical simulation laboratories to enhance practical clinical training and produce globally competitive healthcare professionals.
To strengthen engineering education and support Nigeria’s industrial development, the Minister said the Federal Government has also invested almost ₦110 billion in constructing and rehabilitating engineering workshops and providing modern equipment for Federal Universities of Technology, conventional universities offering engineering programmes and polytechnics.
Dr Alausa described the interventions as among the most significant investments in Nigeria’s tertiary education history, noting that the over ₦1 trillion committed in the past two years covers new infrastructure, rehabilitation of existing facilities, procurement of modern equipment, expansion of specialised laboratories and workshops, and the strengthening of institutional capacity for quality teaching, learning and research.
“This is amazing. This is just mind-boggling what this President has done in rapidly transforming tertiary education.”»
He explained that beyond infrastructure development, the investments are repositioning Nigerian tertiary institutions to produce graduates with the knowledge, technical skills and practical competencies required to drive innovation, industrialisation and long-term economic transformation.
During the engagement, Chairman of the National Committee for the Advancement of Occupational Therapy, Audiology and Speech and Language Therapy Education, Dr Victoria Omua Amu, briefed the Minister on the Committee’s progress since its inauguration. She said the Committee had developed a comprehensive one-year implementation work plan with clear timelines, deliverables and key performance indicators, established a governance framework comprising quarterly physical and monthly virtual meetings, and constituted three specialised subcommittees on advocacy and communication, academic liaison and clinical training, as well as manpower development and transition pathways.
Dr Amu disclosed that a baseline assessment of the Nigerian university system showed that six universities currently offer Audiology programmes, five offer Occupational Therapy programmes, and three offer Speech and Language Therapy programmes, providing a benchmark for measuring future progress. She also reported that the Committee has commenced strategic consultations with the National Universities Commission (NUC), the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists (Registration) Board of Nigeria (MRTB), universities, professional associations and private tertiary education providers, with the first stakeholder engagement held in Benin City, Edo State. She added that Occupational Therapy programmes continue to expand across Nigerian universities, with the University of Benin joining other institutions offering the programme in the 2026/2027 academic session, while identifying the delay in the release of TETFund support as the major challenge affecting implementation.
Dr Alausa reaffirmed the Federal Ministry of Education’s commitment to working closely with tertiary institutions and other stakeholders to ensure that these reforms and investments translate into improved educational outcomes, stronger institutions and greater opportunities for Nigerian students. He assured Nigerians that no qualified student would be denied access to higher education because of financial hardship, while reiterating the Federal Government’s commitment to supporting tertiary institutions in delivering world-class teaching, research and innovation.
