_…President says personal struggle with tuition and accommodation shaped NELFUND, as he lists gains in technical colleges, ASUU deal and medical training_
By Mudi Mohammed
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday linked his personal struggle to pay for education in the United States to the creation of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), saying no Nigerian child should be denied schooling because of poverty.
In a post on his X handle, Tinubu disclosed that NELFUND has now disbursed more than N372 billion in student loans covering institutional fees and upkeep, as part of a broader education renewal drive by his administration.
He recalled arriving in the United States as a young man and working as a taxi driver to raise money for school, delaying enrolment for several months until he had saved enough. On getting to Chicago, he said, he took on different jobs to support himself through university.
“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,” he said.
“When I eventually got to Chicago, I worked different jobs to support myself and pay my way through university. I know what it means to worry about tuition, accommodation and how to make ends meet while pursuing an education.”
Tinubu said that experience shaped his determination to ensure every Nigerian child has access to equal educational opportunities, irrespective of background or parents’ financial circumstances.
He said education remains a major priority of his administration and listed what he described as concrete gains across basic, technical and tertiary education.
In technical and vocational education, he said students in federal and selected state technical colleges now enjoy free school fees, boarding, textbooks and uniforms. The programme, he added, has attracted more than 2.8 million applications, while 38 technical colleges have been rehabilitated.
On university stability, Tinubu said his administration has reached a new agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), providing for a 40 per cent increase in academic staff remuneration and measures to strengthen stability in the universities.
“A four-year course must take four years. Our young people deserve to complete their education on time and get on with their lives,” he said.
He also disclosed that more than one million out-of-school children have returned to learning, while the government is investing in teacher development, expanding opportunities for girls and implementing a new national curriculum that restores Nigerian history to classrooms.
In health education, Tinubu said the Federal Government is investing N110 billion in the rehabilitation of 24 medical schools. Annual nursing enrolment has risen from 28,000 to 115,000, while enrolment in medical and dental programmes has increased from 5,000 to 12,000, to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to train healthcare professionals locally.
The President urged Nigerians to explore the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative through an interactive A–Z platform developed by the Ministry of Education, which provides information on programmes and opportunities for parents, students and teachers. He also called on Nigerians to report challenges affecting education in their communities to help government identify gaps and respond.
He commended the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa; the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad; and the entire education team for implementing the reforms.
“Our journey from reform to opportunities and shared prosperity must begin with education,” Tinubu said. “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. We have more work to do, and I am determined to see it through.”,
