By Seun Ibiyemi
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has highlighted achievements recorded under President Bola Tinubu’s education reforms, including the disbursement of ₦372.62 billion in student loans and the enrolment of more than 156,000 beneficiaries in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme.
The council also said the administration had secured $552 million for basic education, rehabilitated technical colleges, stabilised the academic calendar in tertiary institutions and returned more than one million out-of-school children to classrooms.
In a statement issued on November 4, 2026 by Dele Alake, spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council read that the interventions were outlined in the Federal Ministry of Education’s 2026 Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) report.
It said the reforms cover basic and secondary education, technical and vocational training, and tertiary education, with emphasis on six priority areas: technical and vocational education, science and medical sciences, out-of-school children, girl-child education, digitalisation and education quality assurance.
According to the report, the Federal Government allocated ₦3.52 trillion to education in the 2026 budget and secured $552 million for the HOPE-EDU programme, which targets 29 million children, more than 500,000 teachers and 65,000 public schools.
The council said the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) programme had returned more than one million out-of-school children to learning, trained 1,400 Tsangaya teachers and established 200 bilingual centres across 17 northern states.
It added that the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) programme had reached 7.19 million girls, with 3.7 million enrolled in secondary schools, while more than 10,000 schools had benefited from improved facilities.
The NESRI report also highlighted the introduction of a revised national curriculum, which reintroduces Nigerian History and strengthens Civic and Heritage Studies.
The National Learning Assessment has also been restored to monitor pupils’ performance and identify learning gaps.
Under the EduRevamp initiative, 53,553 teachers have registered, while 51,794 joined the first cohort of the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP), a six-month programme offering professional qualifications, certification and licensing.
Backed by ₦2 billion, the programme targets 250,000 teachers by 2027.
The council said the Inspire Live initiative also provides online lessons for pupils from Primary One to Senior Secondary School Three, supported by certified teachers and artificial intelligence-assisted learning.
The TVET programme has attracted more than 2.8 million applications, with 156,446 verified trainees receiving free training, monthly stipends and start-up support.
More than ₦65.7 billion has been disbursed to trainees, while another ₦30.2 billion has gone to training centres.
The government has also rehabilitated 38 technical colleges and introduced free technical education covering tuition, boarding, textbooks and uniforms.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has processed 1,659,853 student loan applications and disbursed ₦372.62 billion across 319 tertiary institutions.
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The amount comprises ₦192.89 billion for tuition and ₦179.73 billion for students’ upkeep allowances.
The council further said the administration had resolved the long-standing dispute between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and implemented an agreement providing a 40 per cent increase in academic staff remuneration and improved welfare benefits.
It added that the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund had disbursed ₦28 billion to 15,000 workers across 153 public institutions, providing eligible staff with loans of up to ₦10 million for housing, healthcare, transportation and education.
The Federal Government is also investing ₦110 billion to rehabilitate 18 federal medical schools across the six geopolitical zones.
Nursing enrolment increased from 81,480 in 2023 to 114,300 in 2025, while 20 science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM)-focused tertiary institutions have been approved.
The government is also targeting the rehabilitation of 12 engineering and technology faculties.
On research and innovation, the council said the Federal Government had provided ₦365 million annually for research and innovation through the National Laureate Prize.
It added that the Student Venture Capital Grant had disbursed more than ₦2.5 billion to 45 student entrepreneurs, with each beneficiary eligible for up to ₦50 million in equity-free funding.
Entrepreneurship certification is ongoing in 14 federal universities, while the Diaspora BRIDGE initiative has registered 1,141 Nigerian experts abroad and reached 16,675 students across 107 tertiary institutions.
Commenting on the reforms, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said their success would be measured by the impact on students, teachers and institutions rather than the amount of money allocated or the number of programmes introduced.
“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,” he said.
