Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has created unprecedented opportunities for young Nigerians by removing financial barriers that once prevented many from accessing higher education.
Speaking during a meeting with members of the National Committee for the Advancement of Occupational Therapy, Audiology and Speech and Language Therapy Education, Alausa maintained that the Federal Government is committed to ensuring that no qualified Nigerian is denied tertiary education because of poverty.
According to the minister, the Tinubu administration has implemented student-centered reforms and invested more than ₦1 trillion in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education over the past two years to improve access and learning conditions.
“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,” Alausa said.
He noted that the administration’s investments are aimed at equipping young Nigerians with the knowledge and practical skills needed to contribute meaningfully 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,” the minister added.
Highlighting the scale of government spending in the education sector, Alausa disclosed that ₦250 billion has been committed to the construction of new student hostels, while more than ₦150 billion has been invested in renovating existing hostels, classrooms, engineering workshops and other academic facilities.
He also revealed that over ₦130 billion has been dedicated to upgrading medical schools and expanding their training capacity nationwide. In addition, ₦52 billion has been approved for the procurement of modern equipment for 18 medical schools, while nearly ₦30 billion has been invested in establishing 11 state-of-the-art medical simulation laboratories to enhance clinical training.
The minister further stated that almost ₦110 billion has been spent on the construction and rehabilitation of engineering workshops and the provision of modern equipment for federal universities of technology, conventional universities offering engineering programmes and polytechnics.
Describing the investments as among the largest in Nigeria’s tertiary education history, Alausa said they are designed to improve infrastructure, strengthen research capacity and produce graduates with the technical expertise required to drive innovation and economic growth.
“This is amazing. This is just mind-boggling what this President has done in rapidly transforming tertiary education,” he said.
He reaffirmed the Ministry of Education’s commitment to collaborating with tertiary institutions and other stakeholders to ensure that the ongoing reforms translate into improved educational outcomes and expanded opportunities for students.
Earlier, 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.
She disclosed that the committee has developed a one-year implementation plan, established a governance structure and created specialized subcommittees to strengthen advocacy, academic collaboration and manpower development.
According to Amu, six Nigerian universities currently offer Audiology programmes, five offer Occupational Therapy, while three institutions run Speech and Language Therapy programmes. She added that the University of Benin is expected to commence its Occupational Therapy programme during the 2026/2027 academic session.
However, she expressed concern over delays in the release of intervention funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), describing the funding gap as a major challenge affecting the committee’s implementation plans.
The Federal Government has continued to prioritize access to higher education under the Renewed Hope Agenda through initiatives such as the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which provides interest-free loans for eligible students, alongside increased investment in educational infrastructure across universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
