NELFUND: Tinubu has spent N372b on 160,000 enrollees  – PCC

….Returns over 1 million out-of-school children to classrooms

By Jude Opara

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) has rated the reforms of President Bola Tinubu in the education sector high , saying it has expanded access to learning, improved teachers’ welfare, and stabilised academic calendar across higher institutions in the country, and with a staggering N372b spent on about 160,000 student enrollees.

In a statement on Wednesday, spokesman of the PCC, Dele Alake also said that the administration has returned one million out of school children back to the classrooms.

Alake added that the Federal Ministry of Education through its Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) 2026 report, showed that the government’s interventions cover basic and secondary education, technical and vocational training, as well as tertiary education.

The Minister of Solid Minerals noted that the reforms focus on six priority areas: technical and vocational education, science and medical sciences, out-of-school children, girl-child education, digitalisation and education quality assurance.

He also argued that the administration has stabilized university education in the country, adding that the rampant strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASSU) has become a thing of the past.

“NELFUND, a flagship programme of the Tinubu administration in the education sector, has processed 1,659,853 student loan applications and disbursed ₦372.62 billion, comprising ₦192.89 billion for tuition and ₦179.73 billion for upkeep allowances across 319 tertiary institutions.

The administration has resolved the age-long dispute between the Academic Staff Uunion of Universities (ASUU) and implemented the agreement that provided for 40% increase in academic staff remuneration and improved welfare benefits.

“Additionally, the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund has disbursed ₦28 billion to 15,000 workers across 153 public institutions, offering eligible staff loans of up to ₦10 million for housing, healthcare, transportation and education”.

Similarly, the PCC said the NESRI report indicated that the Federal Government allocated a record ₦3.52 trillion to education in the 2026 budget and secured $552 million for the HOPE-EDU programme, which targets 29 million children, over 500,000 teachers and 65,000 public schools.

Alake further stated that apart from the over one million children that have been returned to the classrooms, another 1,400 Tsangaya teachers have been trained.

“The report said the BESDA programme has returned over one million out-of-school children to learning, trained 1,400 Tsangaya teachers and established 200 bilingual centres across 17 northern states.

“It added that the AGILE programme has reached 7.19 million girls, with 3.7 million enrolled in secondary schools, while over 10,000 schools have benefited from improved facilities.

“Under EduRevamp, 53,553 teachers have registered, while 51,794 joined the first cohort of the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP), a six-month programme offering professional qualifications, certification and licensing.

“Backed by ₦2 billion, the programme targets 250,000 teachers by 2027. Also, the Inspire Live initiative provides online lessons from Primary One to Senior Secondary School Three, supported by certified teachers and AI-assisted learning”.

The statement equally noted that the government has made interventions in the Expansion of medical and STEMM education by investing ₦110 billion in the rehabilitation of 18 federal medical schools across the six geopolitical zones.

This he explained caused the Nursing enrolment to rise from 81,480 in 2023 to 114,300 in 2025, while 20 STEM-focused tertiary institutions have been approved and 12 engineering and technology faculties are targeted for rehabilitation.