The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has stated that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has given Nigerian youths all the opportunities for them to succeed.
This is as the Minister assured Nigerians that no qualified student will be denied access to higher education because of financial difficulties.
Alausa noted that the incumbent administration had removed financial barriers to tertiary education through student-focused reforms and investments of more than ₦1tn in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
Naijaonpoint reports that the Minister gave the assurance during a meeting with members of the National Committee for the Advancement of Occupational Therapy, Audiology and Speech and Language Therapy Education.
A statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the Minister on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, quoted the minister as saying that the administration was determined to ensure that every qualified Nigerian, irrespective of their economic background, had access to quality higher education.
Alausa said the Tinubu administration had prioritised human capital development by introducing policies aimed at removing the financial difficulties that had prevented many young Nigerians from pursuing tertiary education.
“This President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has opened up access to students so that not having money, or coming from an indigent family, or your parents being poor, will no longer stop you from achieving the opportunities you can achieve in life. Education is no longer a barrier for students in this country,” he said.
‘Giving Them All The Opportunities To Excel’
The minister said the reforms were designed to empower young Nigerians to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to contribute to the development of the country.
He added, “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 the government’s commitment to expanding access to education had been backed by major investments in the tertiary education sector.
According to him, more than ₦1tn has been invested in tertiary education infrastructure and other interventions over the past two years.
He disclosed that ₦250 billion had been committed to the construction of new student hostels across tertiary institutions, while more than ₦150 billion had been spent on the rehabilitation of existing hostels, classrooms, engineering workshops and other academic facilities.
The minister also said over ₦130 billion had been invested in rehabilitating medical schools and expanding their training capacity across the country.
He added that ₦52 billion had been approved to provide modern equipment for 18 medical schools, while nearly ₦30bn had been invested in the establishment of 11 modern medical simulation laboratories.
According to him, the laboratories would help improve practical clinical training and prepare medical students for real-life situations.
₦110 Billion For Engineering Education
The minister further disclosed that the Federal Government had invested almost ₦110bn in the construction and rehabilitation of engineering workshops and the provision of modern equipment.
He said the investment covered federal universities of technology, conventional universities offering engineering programmes and polytechnics.
Alausa described the interventions as some of the largest investments in the history of Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
He said the projects covered the construction of new infrastructure, rehabilitation of old facilities, purchase of modern equipment, expansion of specialised laboratories and workshops, as well as efforts to strengthen institutions’ capacity for teaching, learning and research.
“This is amazing. This is just mind-boggling what this President has done in rapidly transforming tertiary education,” the minister said.
He explained that the investments were expected to help tertiary institutions produce graduates with the knowledge, technical skills and practical experience required to drive innovation, industrialisation and long-term economic growth.
Alausa also reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to working with tertiary institutions and other stakeholders to ensure that the reforms lead to better educational outcomes, stronger institutions and greater opportunities for Nigerian students.
During the meeting, the Chairman of the National Committee for the Advancement of Occupational Therapy, Audiology and Speech and Language Therapy Education, Dr Victoria Omua Amu, briefed the minister on the committee’s activities.
Amu said the committee had developed a one-year implementation work plan, established a governance framework and created specialised subcommittees to promote advocacy, academic collaboration and manpower development.
She disclosed that six Nigerian universities currently offer Audiology programmes, while five universities offer Occupational Therapy and three offer Speech and Language Therapy programmes.
She added that the University of Benin would commence an Occupational Therapy programme in the 2026/2027 academic session.
However, Amu identified delays in the release of funding from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund as one of the major challenges affecting the implementation of the committee’s plans.
The Federal Government has made access to higher education a major component of the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
As part of its efforts to improve access, the government has introduced the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to provide interest-free loans to eligible students.
The administration has also increased investment in tertiary education infrastructure through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
The government has prioritised the rehabilitation of medical schools, engineering workshops, student hostels and other learning facilities, with the aim of improving teaching, research and innovation in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country.
