The Federal Government has assured Nigerians that no qualified individual will be denied access to tertiary education because of poverty financial hardship.
The govt noted that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has eradicated financial constraints to affordable tertiary education through student-focused reforms and more than ₦1 trillion in investments across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
Dr. Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, offered this assurance during a meeting with members of the National Committee for the Advancement of Occupational Therapy, Audiology, and Speech and Language Therapy Education.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the Minister on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, the administration remains committed to ensuring that every qualified Nigerian, regardless of economic background, has access to quality higher education.
Tunji Alausa also claims that President Bola Tinubu has made human capital development a priority by introducing policies that remove financial barriers which previously prevented many young Nigerians from accessing higher education.
The minister added that the President’s policies are designed to empower young Nigerians to make meaningful contributions to national development.
“We thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for believing in the youth of this country and giving them all the opportunities for them to excel, to be useful to themselves, to be useful to their communities, to be useful to the country and to the global world at large,” Alausa said.
Investments exceeding ₦1 trillion in tertiary education
According to Alausa, in addition to expanding access, the Federal Government has invested about ₦1 trillion in tertiary education over the last two years.
He also noted that the government has allocated ₦250 billion for the construction of new student hostels in tertiary institutions and invested more than ₦150 billion in renovating existing hostels, classrooms, engineering workshops, and other academic facilities.
The minister also disclosed that the government has invested over ₦130 billion in upgrading medical schools and expanding training capacity across the country.
Additionally, Alausa claims that the government has approved ₦52 billion to provide modern equipment for 18 medical schools and invested more than ₦30 billion in establishing 11 state-of-the-art medical simulation centres to strengthen clinical training.
He described the interventions as some of the largest investments ever made in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector, saying they cover new infrastructure, the rehabilitation of existing facilities, the procurement of modern equipment, the expansion of specialised laboratories and workshops, and efforts to strengthen institutional capacity for teaching, learning, and research.
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