Poverty no longer a barrier to tertiary education, Alausa declares

The Federal Government has reiterated that financial hardship will no longer prevent qualified Nigerians from pursuing higher education, highlighting a series of reforms and record investments aimed at expanding access to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, gave the assurance during a meeting with members of the National Committee for the Advancement of Occupational Therapy, Audiology and Speech and Language Therapy Education.

A statement issued on Tuesday by the minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, said the administration of President Bola Tinubu was determined to make quality tertiary education accessible to every eligible Nigerian, irrespective of economic status.

According to the minister, the government’s policies have dismantled many of the financial obstacles that previously kept thousands of young people out of higher institutions.

“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 the reforms were designed to equip young Nigerians with the opportunities and skills needed to contribute to national growth.

“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 said the Federal Government had matched its commitment with investments exceeding ₦1 trillion in the tertiary education sector within the past two years.

He disclosed that ₦250 billion had been earmarked for the construction of new student hostels, while more than ₦150 billion had gone into renovating existing hostels, lecture rooms, engineering workshops and other academic infrastructure.

According to him, the government has also invested over ₦130 billion in upgrading medical schools and expanding their capacity to train healthcare professionals nationwide.

He added that another ₦52 billion had been approved for modern equipment in 18 medical schools, while close to ₦30 billion was used to establish 11 advanced medical simulation laboratories to improve hands-on clinical training.

Alausa further revealed that almost ₦110 billion had been channelled into engineering education through the construction and rehabilitation of workshops as well as the provision of modern equipment for federal universities of technology, conventional universities offering engineering programmes and polytechnics.

He described the interventions as one of the most ambitious funding programmes ever undertaken in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector, covering infrastructure development, rehabilitation projects, specialised laboratories, workshops and institutional strengthening.

“This is amazing. This is just mind-boggling what this President has done in rapidly transforming tertiary education.”

The minister expressed confidence that the investments would strengthen teaching, research and innovation while producing graduates with the technical and practical skills required for industrial development and economic growth.

He also reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to collaborating with higher institutions and other stakeholders to ensure the reforms translate into better educational outcomes.

Earlier, the Chairman of the National Committee for the Advancement of Occupational Therapy, Audiology and Speech and Language Therapy Education, Dr Victoria Omua Amu, updated the minister on the committee’s progress.

She said the committee had developed a one-year implementation plan, established a governance framework and created specialised subcommittees to promote advocacy, academic partnerships and workforce development.

Amu disclosed that six Nigerian universities currently offer Audiology programmes, while five run Occupational Therapy programmes and three offer Speech and Language Therapy. She added that the University of Benin would begin an Occupational Therapy programme in the 2026/2027 academic session.

She, however, identified delays in the release of TETFund support as a major obstacle to implementing the committee’s plans.

The Federal Government has continued to place higher education at the centre of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda through initiatives such as the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which provides interest-free loans to eligible students, alongside increased investment in infrastructure across tertiary institutions.