The Federal Government has disclosed that Nigeria requires an annual investment of $345 million to effectively reintegrate and equip approximately 15 million out-of-school children across the country with essential skills.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, made this known during the inaugural Federal Ministry of Education Private Sector Breakfast Convening held in Lagos on Tuesday.
According to the minister, the estimated $345 million is based on current per capita spending required to address the needs of the millions of children currently outside the formal education system. He revealed that about 25 per cent of children aged between five and 14 years are out of school nationwide, with the figure rising to 41 per cent in the North-East and North-West regions.
Alausa emphasised that although the government has made progress through the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative, additional funding is necessary to support ongoing efforts in the sector.
“The challenges in the Nigerian education sector present a marked opportunity to increase access, improve quality, and enhance systems,” he stated.
He explained that education remains a central pillar of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope development agenda, which aims to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
The minister added that the government has disbursed N10.6 billion to Technical and Vocational Education and Training centres nationwide and paid N3.4 billion to trainees to address the shortage of skilled labour. He noted that the government received about 1.3 million applications for the programme, with 160,000 students matched to training centres and 72,000 currently enrolled using verifiable biometric systems.
Alausa further revealed that the Federal Government has invested over N156 billion to rehabilitate 18 medical schools and several engineering institutions across the country. He said N70 billion was spent on laboratory and technology workshop rehabilitation, while N100 billion was used to construct new hostels across 50 institutions.
He also disclosed that the government established a Student Venture Capital Grant aimed at supporting innovation among students in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medical Science fields, with N50 million set aside as equity-free grants for selected beneficiaries.
The minister called on private sector stakeholders to align their resources with national education priorities, stressing that collaboration is essential to tackle the country’s growing out-of-school children crisis and improve access to quality education.
