President Bola Tinubu’s education reforms have expanded access to learning, improved teachers’ welfare and stabilised the academic calendar across tertiary institutions, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has said.
The claim was contained in a press statement issued on Tuesday, November 4, 2026, by the Spokesperson of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake.
According to the statement, which cited the Federal Ministry of Education’s Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) 2026 report, the government’s interventions cover basic and secondary education, technical and vocational training, and tertiary education.
It said 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.
The Council said the Federal Government allocated a record ₦3.52 trillion to education in the 2026 budget and secured $552 million for the HOPE-EDU programme, targeting 29 million children, over 500,000 teachers and 65,000 public schools.
It added that 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.
The AGILE programme, according to the statement, has reached 7.19 million girls, with 3.7 million enrolled in secondary schools, while over 10,000 schools have benefited from improved facilities.
The NESRI index, as quoted by the Council, indicated that the administration introduced a revised national curriculum that reintroduces Nigerian History and strengthens Civic and Heritage Studies. The National Learning Assessment has also been restored to monitor pupils’ performance.
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. The Inspire Live initiative provides online lessons from Primary One to Senior Secondary School Three, supported by certified teachers and AI-assisted learning.
*TVET Records Over 156,000 Beneficiaries*
The Council said the TVET scheme has attracted over 2.8 million applications, with 156,446 verified trainees receiving free training, monthly stipends and start-up support.
More than ₦65.7 billion has been disbursed to trainees, while ₦30.2 billion has gone to training centres. The government has also rehabilitated 38 technical colleges and introduced free technical education covering tuition, boarding, textbooks and uniforms.
NELFUND, described as a flagship programme of the administration, 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 Council said the administration resolved the age-long dispute with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and implemented an agreement providing for a 40 per cent increase in academic staff remuneration and improved welfare benefits.
It added that 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.
The Federal Government is investing ₦110 billion in the rehabilitation of 18 federal medical schools across the six geopolitical zones. Nursing enrolment rose 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.
*Research, Innovation*
The Council said the Federal Government has provided ₦365 million annually for research and innovation through the National Laureate Prize, while the Student Venture Capital Grant has disbursed over ₦2.5 billion to 45 student entrepreneurs. Each beneficiary can access up to ₦50 million in equity-free funding.
Entrepreneurship certification is ongoing in 14 federal universities, while the Diaspora BRIDGE initiative has registered 1,141 Nigerian experts abroad, reaching 16,675 students across 107 tertiary institutions.
Speaking on the achievements, Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the success of the reforms would be measured by their impact on students, teachers and institutions rather than the amount of money allocated or number of programmes introduced.
“Our measure of success is not merely the amount of money allocated to education or the number of programmes introduced. It is the difference these interventions make in the lives of our children, students, teachers and institutions,” he said.
