The Federal Government says it has invested more than ₦1 trillion in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector within two years while removing financial barriers that prevent qualified students from accessing higher education.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during a meeting with members of the National Committee for the Advancement of Occupational Therapy, Audiology, Speech and Language Therapy Education.
Alausa said the Tinubu administration’s education reforms and infrastructure investments were aimed at expanding access to higher education and strengthening human capital development across the country.
According to him, the reforms are designed to ensure that no qualified Nigerian is denied access to tertiary education because of financial hardship, regardless of family background or economic status.
“The President has opened up access to students so that not having money, or coming from an indigent family, will no longer stop anyone from achieving educational opportunities,” Alausa said.
The minister commended President Bola Tinubu for prioritising education, describing the reforms as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s youth and a deliberate effort to build a globally competitive workforce.
He said students had emerged among the biggest beneficiaries of the Renewed Hope Agenda, with the government backing its promises through significant investments in infrastructure, teaching facilities and improved learning environments.
Alausa disclosed that the Federal Government had committed ₦250 billion to the construction of new hostels across tertiary institutions to expand accommodation capacity and improve students’ welfare.
He added that more than ₦150 billion had been invested in rehabilitating hostels, classrooms, engineering workshops and other academic facilities across public tertiary institutions.
According to him, the government had also invested over ₦130 billion in upgrading medical schools nationwide to strengthen healthcare training and address shortages in critical medical and allied health professions.
He further revealed that ₦52 billion had been approved for modern equipment in 18 medical schools, while nearly ₦30 billion was allocated for the establishment of 11 medical simulation laboratories.
The minister said the investments would improve practical clinical training, enhance research capacity and equip future healthcare professionals with globally competitive skills.
He also disclosed that almost ₦110 billion had been invested in engineering workshops and modern equipment for federal universities of technology, conventional universities offering engineering programmes and polytechnics.
Alausa said the interventions would strengthen science, technology, engineering and innovation while producing graduates with practical competencies needed to drive industrialisation and sustainable economic development.
He described the investments as historic, noting that the over ₦1 trillion committed within two years covered infrastructure development, rehabilitation projects, specialised laboratories, workshops, equipment procurement and institutional capacity building.
According to him, the investments are repositioning tertiary institutions to produce graduates capable of competing globally and contributing meaningfully to Nigeria’s socio-economic development.
Earlier, the Chairman of the National Committee for the Advancement of Occupational Therapy, Audiology and Speech and Language Therapy Education, Dr Victoria Amu, briefed the minister on the committee’s progress.
Amu said the committee had developed a one-year implementation plan, established governance structures, inaugurated three specialised sub-committees and commenced consultations with key stakeholders across the education and healthcare sectors.
She said six Nigerian universities currently offer Audiology programmes, five offer Occupational Therapy, while three offer Speech and Language Therapy.
Amu added that the committee had engaged the National Universities Commission (NUC), the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Registration Board of Nigeria (MRTB) and tertiary institutions, while identifying delayed TETFund support as a major implementation challenge.
Alausa reaffirmed the Federal Ministry of Education’s commitment to supporting tertiary institutions and ensuring that no qualified Nigerian is denied higher education because of financial hardship.
He also pledged continued support for teaching, research and innovation across the country’s tertiary institutions.
