The Federal Government says its education reforms under President Bola Tinubu have expanded access to learning, improved teachers’ welfare and helped stabilise the academic calendar in tertiary institutions.
The government also disclosed that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disbursed N372.62 billion in student loans, while more than 156,000 trainees have benefited from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme.
These figures were contained in the 2026 report of the Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education.
The report outlined the administration’s interventions across basic, secondary, technical and tertiary education, with particular attention to six priority areas: technical and vocational education, science and medical sciences, out-of-school children, girl-child education, digitalisation and quality assurance.
N3.52trn education budget, $552m for basic education
According to the report, the Federal Government allocated a record N3.52 trillion to education in the 2026 budget and secured $552 million for the HOPE-EDU programme.
The programme targets 29 million children, more than 500,000 teachers and 65,000 public schools.
The government also said the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) programme had returned more than one million out-of-school children to classrooms.
Under the initiative, 1,400 Tsangaya teachers have received training, while 200 bilingual centres have been established across 17 northern states.
The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) programme has also reached 7.19 million girls, with 3.7 million enrolled in secondary schools. More than 10,000 schools have reportedly benefited from improved facilities.
Government introduces curriculum reforms, trains teachers
The NESRI report also highlighted changes to the national curriculum, including the reintroduction of Nigerian History and stronger emphasis on Civic and Heritage Studies.
It said the National Learning Assessment had been restored to monitor pupils’ performance and identify gaps in learning.
Under the EduRevamp programme, 53,553 teachers have registered, while 51,794 joined the first batch of the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP).
The six-month programme is designed to provide professional qualifications, certification and licensing for teachers.
Backed by N2 billion, the initiative targets 250,000 teachers by 2027.
The government has also introduced Inspire Live, an online learning platform offering lessons from Primary One to Senior Secondary School Three, supported by certified teachers and artificial intelligence-assisted learning.
TVET attracts 2.8 million applications
The Technical and Vocational Education and Training programme has attracted more than 2.8 million applications, with 156,446 verified trainees receiving free training, monthly stipends and start-up support.
According to the report, the government has disbursed more than N65.7 billion directly to trainees and another N30.2 billion to training centres.
It has also rehabilitated 38 technical colleges and introduced free technical education covering tuition, boarding, textbooks and uniforms.
