Nigeria launches a renewed education funding drive as FG and governors push joint action to strengthen schools and improve access

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday said the Federal Government and state governors had embarked on a renewed education funding drive aimed at closing Nigeria’s widening financing gap and delivering safer, better-resourced schools nationwide.

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Speaking at the maiden Nigeria Education Forum 2025 in Abuja, Shettima urged political leaders, industry players and communities to strengthen collaboration to secure long-term progress.

Represented by his Special Adviser on General Duties, Aliyu Umar, Shettima said the APC-led administration had significantly increased allocations to the sector over the past three years.

He noted that federal spending rose from N1.54 trillion in 2023 to N3.52 trillion in 2025 under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Plan, while key agencies such as TETFUND and UBEC recorded sharp budget expansions.

The Vice President said the newly-established Nigeria Education Loan Fund had disbursed N86.3 billion to more than 450,000 students across 218 tertiary institutions, ensuring that financial constraints no longer bar entry to higher education.

He added that the rise in grants and matching funds was helping states reach remote communities and strengthen teacher development.

Shettima, however, warned that government alone could not sustain the burden of financing. He called on private investors, alumni groups, local governments and traditional institutions to co-invest in research, skills development and school maintenance, insisting that millions of out-of-school children constituted a national emergency requiring unified action.

Kwara State Governor and Nigeria Governors’ Forum Chairman AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, represented by DG Abdateef Shittu, said states had increased education budgets collectively by 53 per cent in 2025 to N3.6 trillion.

He cautioned that real improvement depended on disciplined execution and smarter financing models designed to minimise abandoned projects and strengthen transparency.

AbdulRazaq projected that Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Kaduna, Katsina and Abia would jointly allocate N1.8 trillion to education in 2026, with four of those states expected to dedicate more than 30 per cent of their total budgets to the sector.

He said better partnerships with industry and philanthropists were essential to aligning school curricula with labour-market needs and transforming universities into innovation engines.

Minister of Education Tunji Alausa, represented by Minister of State for Education Professor Suwaiba Ahmad, highlighted efforts to reintegrate out-of-school children.

He said more than 1,400 Tsangaya teachers had received digital literacy and entrepreneurship training, and that comprehensive school-safety frameworks were now being embedded nationwide, with Unity College principals trained on prevention and emergency response.

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The Forum, convened by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education and state commissioners of education, aims to develop long-term pathways for sustainable financing and improved learning outcomes.