Tinubu’s education reforms deliver N372bn student loans, 156,000 TVET beneficiaries – APC PCC

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has said President Bola Tinubu’s education reforms have resulted in the disbursement of N372.62 billion in student loans and the enrolment of 156,446 beneficiaries in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme.

The council also said the reforms had returned over one million out-of-school children to classrooms, secured $552 million for basic education and stabilised the academic calendar in tertiary institutions.

The achievements were contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the spokesperson of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake, based on the 2026 report of the Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) of the Federal Ministry of Education.

According to the report, the Federal Government allocated N3.52 trillion to education in the 2026 budget, while securing $552 million for the HOPE-EDU programme, which targets 29 million children, over 500,000 teachers and 65,000 public schools.

The council said the Basic Education Sector Access and Development programme (BESDA) had returned over 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) had reached 7.19 million girls, with 3.7 million enrolled in secondary schools, while more than 10,000 schools benefited from improved facilities.

On teacher development, the report said 53,553 teachers had registered under the EduRevamp programme, while 51,794 joined the first cohort of the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP).

“The six-month programme provided professional qualifications, certification and licensing, with a target of 250,000 teachers by 2027, backed by N2 billion,” he explained.

The council said the TVET programme had also attracted over 2.8 million applications, with 156,446 verified trainees receiving free training, monthly stipends and start-up support.

It further disclosed that N65.7 billion had been disbursed to trainees, while N30.2 billion was paid to training centres. The government also rehabilitated 38 technical colleges and introduced free technical education covering tuition, boarding, textbooks and uniforms.

Under the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the report said 1,659,853 student loan applications had been processed, with N372.62 billion disbursed across 319 tertiary institutions. “The amount comprised N192.89 billion for tuition and N179.73 billion for students’ upkeep allowances,” he explained.

The council also said the administration had resolved the longstanding dispute with 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 N28 billion to 15,000 workers across 153 public institutions, offering eligible staff loans of up to N10 million for housing, healthcare, transportation and education.

On medical and science education, the Federal Government is investing N110 billion in the rehabilitation of 18 federal medical schools, while nursing enrolment increased from 81,480 in 2023 to 114,300 in 2025.

The report further indicated that N2.5 billion had been disbursed to 45 student entrepreneurs under the Student Venture Capital Grant, with each beneficiary eligible for up to N50 million in equity-free funding.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the success of the reforms would be measured by their impact on students, teachers and institutions rather than the volume of funds allocated or 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.

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