No qualified Nigerian will miss higher education over poverty – FG

The Federal Government has assured Nigerians that no qualified student will be denied access to higher education because of financial constraints, saying the Tinubu administration has removed financial barriers through education reforms and investments exceeding ₦1 trillion in tertiary institutions.

 

The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, 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.

 

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, Alausa said the administration is committed to ensuring that every qualified Nigerian, irrespective of economic background, has access to quality higher 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,” the minister said.

 

He added that the reforms are designed to equip young Nigerians with the skills needed to contribute 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 added.

 

The minister disclosed that the Federal Government has committed ₦250 billion to the construction of new student hostels across tertiary institutions, while more than ₦150 billion has been invested in rehabilitating existing hostels, classrooms, engineering workshops and other academic facilities.

 

He further stated that over ₦130 billion has been invested in rehabilitating medical schools and expanding their training capacity nationwide.

 

According to him, another ₦52 billion has been approved for modern equipment in 18 medical schools, while nearly ₦30 billion has been invested in establishing 11 medical simulation laboratories to strengthen practical clinical training.

 

To improve engineering education, Alausa said the government has also invested almost ₦110 billion in constructing and rehabilitating engineering workshops and providing modern equipment for federal universities of technology, conventional universities offering engineering programmes and polytechnics.

 

Describing the interventions as among the largest investments in Nigeria’s tertiary education history, the minister said they would strengthen teaching, learning, research and innovation while producing graduates with the technical skills needed to drive national development.

 

“This is amazing. This is just mind-boggling what this President has done in rapidly transforming tertiary education,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the National Committee for the Advancement of Occupational Therapy, Audiology and Speech and Language Therapy Education, Dr. Victoria Omua Amu, said six Nigerian universities currently offer Audiology programmes, five offer Occupational Therapy programmes and three offer Speech and Language Therapy programmes.

 

She added that the University of Benin is expected to commence an Occupational Therapy programme in the 2026/2027 academic session but identified delays in the release of TETFund support as a major challenge affecting implementation.