Vice President Kashim Shettima has revealed that the nation’s education budget has increased under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, jumping to ₦3.52 trillion in 2025 from ₦1.54 trillion in 2023.
Shettima disclosed the figure on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of the 2025 Nigeria Education Forum.
He stated that the substantial spending reflects the administration’s “unwavering commitment to building an enlightened and globally competitive population.”
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Shettima, represented by Aliyu Umar, Special Adviser to the President on General Duties, warned that the growing number of out-of-school children in the country constitutes a national emergency.
He stressed that traditional government-only funding models are no longer sufficient to sustain the country’s educational needs, calling for a fundamental shift toward collaborative financing.
“The burden cannot rest on the government alone. We must enlist private sector actors, industry leaders, alumni networks, philanthropists, and communities to co-invest in laboratories, research centres, vocational hubs, innovation clusters, and endowment funds”, Shettima said.
The forum was organised by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the Federal Ministry of Education, and the Committee of States’ Commissioners of Education, under the theme: “Pathways to Sustainable Education Financing: Developing a Synergy Between Town and Gown in Nigeria.”
Shettima highlighted substantial funding increases across key education agencies under the Renewed Hope plan.
He said the Tertiary Education Trust Fund budget has grown from ₦320.3 billion in 2023 to ₦683.4 billion in 2024, and now stands at*₦1.6 trillion in 2025.
Shettima added that the Universal Basic Education Commission has distributed ₦92.4 billion in matching grants to 25 states and the FCT.
He said individual state UBE grants have increased from approximately ₦1.3 billion to over ₦3.3 billion, allowing states to access more than ₦6.6 billion through counterpart funding.
He noted that an additional ₦19 billion has supported teacher development across 32 states and the FCT.
Shettima said the newly created Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), established under the Student Loans Act of 2024, has already disbursed ₦86.3 billion to over 450,000 students in 218 tertiary institutions nationwide.
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He said, “This Fund signals a new era where no Nigerian is denied tertiary education for lack of money.”
Shettima called for deliberate collaboration across all levels of government, emphasising the importance of prompt counterpart funding, transparent resource utilisation, and adherence to action plans.
He noted that local governments and traditional institutions must take responsibility for school infrastructure, maintenance, and teacher welfare.
