WorldStage— Seplat Energy has called for a shift in corporate support for education in Nigeria, urging businesses to move beyond one-off philanthropic gestures and embrace long-term, system-wide investments that strengthen the country’s education value chain.
In a statement on Tuesday by the company’s Manager, Corporate Communications and Media Relations, Stanley Opara, Seplat said Nigeria’s most critical infrastructure deficit may not be in roads, electricity or ports, but in an education system that is unable to produce enough skilled and work-ready citizens for a rapidly evolving economy.
The company noted that with about 10.5 million primary school-age children out of school and only about one in four children aged between seven and 14 able to read a simple sentence or demonstrate basic numeracy skills, education should no longer be regarded as a peripheral social responsibility but as critical national infrastructure.
According to Seplat, Nigeria must move away from the traditional corporate social responsibility model centred on isolated donations, ceremonial scholarships and classroom construction towards interventions that strengthen the entire education ecosystem.
It said the NNPC/Seplat Energy Joint Venture education initiative demonstrates this approach by combining teacher development, student competitions, school infrastructure support, scholarships and entrepreneurship programmes into a comprehensive model.
“The value of the programme lies not only in its scale but in its structure. It treats education as a system rather than a photo opportunity,” the statement said.
Highlighting the impact of its education interventions, Seplat disclosed that 34 per cent of its 780 undergraduate scholarships have been awarded to students from host communities.
It also noted that the Seplat JV PEARLs Quiz, currently open to secondary schools in Delta, Edo and Imo states, has reached 61,035 teachers and students since its inception in 2012, with plans to expand to additional states.
According to the company, the competition has provided ₦101 million in prize funding for school development projects, including libraries, classroom blocks and school buses.
The company added that its Seplat Teachers Empowerment Programme (STEP) has trained 1,334 educators, comprising 1,232 secondary school teachers and 102 officials from Ministries of Education, with the objective of improving teaching quality across participating states.
Seplat argued that meaningful educational reform requires interventions across multiple levels, noting that while scholarships support individual students, investments in teachers create a multiplier effect capable of benefiting hundreds of learners over time.
The company further stated that academic competitions such as the PEARLs Quiz not only reward excellence but also leave behind lasting infrastructure that strengthens participating schools long after the contests end.
It stressed that every major sector of the Nigerian economy—including energy, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing and the digital economy—depends on a strong education system to produce the skilled workforce needed for sustainable growth.
“Poor education today translates to poor productivity tomorrow,” the statement said, adding that private-sector investment in education should be viewed as both enlightened self-interest and a national economic strategy rather than optional corporate benevolence.
Seplat therefore called on governments at both federal and state levels to deepen collaboration with the private sector in strengthening education through deliberate partnerships, while urging companies to adopt structured interventions that improve learning outcomes, teacher capacity, school infrastructure and access to higher education.
The company also challenged the media to distinguish between corporate education initiatives that deliver lasting systemic impact and those designed primarily for publicity.
According to Seplat, Nigeria needs not just more corporate interventions in education, but better-designed programmes capable of transforming the country’s human capital development.
