…as FG expands health training, ends campus unrest
By Joseph Erunke, Abuja
The Federal Government has declared that education will serve as the engine room of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ambitious plan to build a $1 trillion Nigerian economy, unveiling far-reaching reforms aimed at producing a globally competitive workforce, expanding admissions into health institutions, and sustaining industrial peace across the nation’s universities.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who disclosed this during an interview at the weekend, said the administration was fundamentally restructuring Nigeria’s education sector to transform the country’s youthful population into a highly skilled workforce capable of driving economic growth at home while supplying quality manpower to Africa and the global labor market.
According to him, President Tinubu’s unprecedented investments in education, skills development, and human capital are designed to position Nigeria as a leading exporter of skilled professionals.
“We want to be the manpower supplier of the world. We need to produce competent, skilled, and educated young Nigerians who will drive our economy, contribute to Africa’s growth, and compete successfully across the world,” the minister said.
In one of the administration’s most significant interventions, Alausa revealed that annual admissions into nursing schools have surged from about 20,000 to nearly 50,000 students, describing the expansion as part of deliberate efforts to address Nigeria’s chronic shortage of healthcare professionals.
He added that admissions into medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry had also been significantly increased, expressing confidence that the reforms would, within a few years, eliminate the country’s manpower deficit in the health sector as thousands of newly trained professionals graduate into the workforce.
The minister described education as the cornerstone of President Tinubu’s economic blueprint, insisting that the country’s aspiration of becoming a trillion-dollar economy cannot be realized without massive investment in human capital.
“As the president advances his vision of building a one trillion-dollar economy, education will remain at the center of that transformation,” he stated.
Alausa also assured Nigerians that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has been structured to outlive the current administration, saying sustainability was deliberately built into the scheme to guarantee access to higher education for future generations.
He disclosed that President Tinubu had consistently directed ministers and heads of government agencies to ensure that every major reform introduced by the administration remains viable long after the present government leaves office.
“There is no value in introducing policies that cannot stand the test of time.
Sustainability is central to this administration’s philosophy, and that principle guided the design of NELFUND,” he explained.
On industrial relations, the minister credited President Tinubu’s dialogue-driven leadership for restoring stability to Nigeria’s tertiary education system after years of recurring strikes.
According to him, the administration rebuilt trust with academic and non-academic staff unions by honoring key commitments, including the payment of 50 percent of withheld salaries inherited from previous disputes shortly after assuming office.
He added that the government also approved a nearly 40 per cent salary increase for workers in tertiary institutions, balancing improved staff welfare with fiscal discipline.
The renewed atmosphere of industrial harmony, he noted, is already translating into improved academic performance and greater international recognition for Nigerian universities.
Citing the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Alausa said the number of Nigerian universities recognized globally had risen from 21 to 24, while public universities reclaimed the country’s top positions for the first time in many years.
He described the achievement as clear evidence that the federal government’s reforms are producing measurable results and strengthening the global competitiveness of Nigeria’s higher education system.
Reaffirming the ministry’s commitment to deepening ongoing reforms, the minister said the federal government would continue to expand access to quality education, strengthen human capital development, and equip Nigerian youths with the skills required to compete in the rapidly evolving global economy.
He maintained that under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, education would remain the foundation for sustainable economic growth, national development, and shared prosperity, while pledging that the ministry would continue implementing policies aimed at unlocking the full potential of Nigeria’s greatest asset—its people.
