President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has recalled his struggles financing university education in the United States, using his personal experience to explain his administration’s focus on expanding educational opportunities in Nigeria.
Tinubu, in a statement highlighting his administration’s achievements in the education sector, disclosed that he worked as a taxi driver and took up different jobs to finance his studies before graduating from university in Chicago.
“When I first arrived in the United States as a young man, I drove a taxi to earn money for my education. I even had to postpone starting school for several months to save enough,” the President said.
He explained that his experiences with tuition fees, accommodation and other financial challenges shaped his conviction that every Nigerian child should have access to quality education, irrespective of family background or financial circumstances.
Highlighting his administration’s interventions, Tinubu disclosed that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) had provided more than ₦372 billion in student loans to cover institutional fees and upkeep.
He also revealed that the Federal Government’s technical and vocational education programme had received over 2.8 million applications, while 38 technical colleges had undergone rehabilitation.
According to him, students in federal and selected state technical colleges now enjoy free tuition, boarding, textbooks and uniforms.
On university education, the President announced a new agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which provides for a 40 per cent increase in academic staff remuneration and measures aimed at improving stability in the university system.
He stressed the need to eliminate unnecessary delays in academic programmes, insisting that students should complete their courses within the stipulated period.
“A four-year course must take four years. Our young people deserve to complete their education on time and get on with their lives,” Tinubu said.
In the health education sector, the President disclosed that his administration was investing ₦110 billion in the rehabilitation of 24 medical schools.
He added that annual nursing enrolment had increased from 28,000 to 115,000, while admission into medical and dental programmes had risen from 5,000 to 12,000.
Tinubu said the government was also working to bring more children into the classroom, noting that over one million children previously excluded from formal education had returned to learning.
Other interventions, he said, include teacher development, expanded educational opportunities for girls and the introduction of a national curriculum that restores Nigerian History to classrooms.
The President also acknowledged the contributions of the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, and other members of the education team.
He expressed satisfaction with the development of an interactive A–Z guide to the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), which provides information on reforms, programmes, achievements and opportunities across the education sector.
Tinubu urged parents, students and teachers to visit edu4pbat.ng to explore available opportunities and programmes under the initiative.
He also encouraged Nigerians to report shortcomings in their communities, saying public feedback would help the government identify challenges and address them.
Reaffirming his commitment to expanding access to education, the President said a child’s circumstances at birth should not determine the height of their ambitions.
“The circumstances of a child’s birth should never determine the limits of their ambition. Our responsibility is to give every Nigerian child a fair chance to fulfil their potential,” he said.
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