CLEMENT IDOKO, writes on the allocation of N3.52 trillion to the education sector in the 2025 budget by the Federal Government. This represents about 7.3 percent of the total budget proposal of N49.70 trillion, which stakeholders have said is low to address the multifaceted challenges in the sector. Therefore, the Federal Government through the Minister of Education must galvanise stakeholders for more investment in education in Nigeria for improved quality, access and global competitiveness.
On 23 October 2024, President Bola Tinubu approved the redeployment of Dr Olatunji Alausa as Minister of Education, replacing Professor Tahir Mamman, one of the five ministers dismissed by the President.
Alausa, a medical doctor specialising in nephrology who was the former Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare had shortly after settling down on assumption duty, set an ambitious plan to revamp the education sector that has been bedevilled with decades of multifaceted challenges.
His six key-point priority initiatives to transform the education sector are: promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medical Sciences (STEMM); reducing the number of Out-of-School children; enhancing Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET); advancing Girl-Child Education; harnessing Data and Digitalisation and Strengthening Quality Assurance Mechanisms.
Stakeholders were quick to observe that how well he is able to accomplish these ambitious objectives would be determined to a large extent by funding and prudent utilisation of available resources. This has brought to focus the concerns being raised by stakeholders on the low budgetary allocation to education in the 2025 Federal Budget.
The President had two weeks ago presented to the National Assembly the 2025 budget proposal of N49.70 trillion spending plan entitled “Budget of Restoration: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity.”
In the budget proposal, the Federal Government allocated N3.52 trillion to the education sector, representing about 7.3 percent of the total budget. The budget covers personnel cost, Universal Basic Education (UBEC), which alone got N738 billion, other agencies including the Federal Government Colleges and tertiary institutions.
In an interview with Nigerian Tribune, the Executive Director of Education Rights Initiative, Dr Solomon Udah, said the 2025 budgetary allocation falls far below the 26 per cent benchmark recommended by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
He added that the World Bank also recommended that 20-30 percent of government budgets should be allocated to education annually.
Udah said: “Nigeria has historically underfunded its education sector. Since the country’s return to democracy in 1999, education has rarely received more than 10 percent of the federal budget.
“When in 2017, the then President, Mohammadu Buhari presented an N8.6 trillion budget to the National Assembly, which was merely 7.0 percent of its grand total, only few Nigerians expressed displeasure and dissatisfaction.
“Only a few people had complained about the paltry sum allocated to the education sector. Since then we have not learnt our lessons.
“President Tinubu-led administration has followed the same path and in mid-December 2024, presented the year 2025 education budget, worth 7.3 percent of the total budget,” he stated.
He added that the issues of access to education at all levels, quality and entrepreneurial skills remain major challenges that the government through the Minister of Education must of necessity galvanise stakeholders for more investment in education.
Speaking in the same vein, the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, lamented the low budgetary allocation to the education sector.
According to him, the governments’ budget allocations were a clear reflection of their lack of commitment to the revitalisation of the education sector.
Osodeke, while expressing disappointment over the allocation to the education sector, noted that the N3.5tn education budget of the Federal Government might appear humongous, saying however, that it is only constitutes 7 percent, a figure he noted remained unchanged from the previous years.
He highlighted the rot in the schools and the difficult situation most of the tertiary institutions are operating under, given the current harsh economic condition.
He added that while electricity costs for some universities were around N20 million in the past, most universities now pay nearly N300 million.
He further pointed out that the worsening exchange rate has eroded the value of the allocated budget, stressing there was also the difference between budgetary allocation and releases of the same.
“The government budgeted N300bn for university revitalisation in 2023, but we are in 2025, and that money has still not been released. How can we be sure that this new budget won’t face the same fate?” he queried.
Nonetheless, in line with key priorities of the Federal Ministry of Education and renewed hope agenda of President Tinubu, the Federal Government has voted N50 billion to combat the menace of out-of-school children syndrome in the 2025 budget.
Analysis of the 2025 budget indicated that the programme is domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Education. Captured as an Economic Recovery Growth Plan, the new project titled ‹ERGP24225846 support for out-of-school children project› will gulp N50 Billion.
The latest report from UNESCO, showed that Nigeria has over 22 million out-of-school children, cutting across primary and secondary school age children.
Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, while outlining his priority initiatives for the education sector, expressed resolve that the menace must be confronted head-on.
He said: “With over 10 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, we must confront this challenge head-on. This involves enhancing school enrollment programmes, reducing barriers to education in underserved areas, and leveraging community engagement to return every child to the classroom”.
Another key area of focus in the 2025 budget to education is the allocation of N50 billion to support online learning for secondary schools and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes.
Also, while TVET would gulp N40 billion, online classes for secondary schools would cost N10 billion.
Part of the reforms in education sector, as announced by Alausa is to promote Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system, prioritising practical learning, with 80 per cent of the curriculum now dedicated to hands-on training and only 20 per cent to theoretical learning.
“We are now clearly changing the TVET structure from didactics to skill acquisition, we will now do 20 percent didactics and 80 percent practical, and that›s how we are going to move forward,” he stated.
“TVET programmes are crucial for preparing our youth with hands-on skills that directly translate into employment opportunities. This requires upgrading our vocational centers, designing industry-relevant curricular, and encouraging private-sector collaboration to bridge the skills gap.
“We will leverage other Government programmes such as Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Bank Of Industry (BOI), Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) and others to support entrepreneurs with single digit facilities,” he said.
Also, careful scrutiny of the 2025 budget estimates has shown that N40 billion has been set aside to address the issues of insecurity including perimeter fencing, and energy crisis in the 118 Federal Government Colleges across the country.
There was also the provision for up-skilling of vocational skills acquisition centres in Nigeria, partnering with other stakeholders to improve vocational centres across the country at cost of N100 million, while provision of 160 mobile science laboratory kits and 280 toolboxes for Federal Unity Schools (FUCs) and Federal Science and Technical Colleges (FSTCS) in phases would gulp N540 million.
Government would also spend N40 billion on rehabilitation of classrooms and hostels in FUCs, while assessment, construction, upgrading, rehabilitation and equipping of laboratories in phases of Federal Unity Colleges (new projects) would cost N500 million.
The Federal Government has provided a lifeline in the form of stabilisation fund for the agencies removed from the Federal budget with each getting N300 million in the 2025 budget proposal. The affected Councils are: Teachers› Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) N300 million; Liberian Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN) N300 million and Computer Registration Council of Nigeria (CPCRN) N300 million.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students Engagement, Hon. Sunday Asefon, on his part, described as unprecedented the allocation of N3.5 trillion for education by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2025 budget proposal.
Asefon said the allocation to the education sector was the highest in Nigeria›s history.
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The Presidential aide said the remarkable commitment underscores the President›s belief that education is the best legacy to empower the youth.
“With this landmark investment, affordable and quality education at all levels is now within reach, bringing renewed hope to students and families nationwide. Truly, this is a transformative step towards building a brighter future for Nigeria,» he stated.
Stakeholders have, however, urged the Federal Government to give priority to resolution of outstanding demands of staff unions in tertiary institutions in 2025 in order to ensure stability in the academic calendar. Re-negotiation of 2009 agreement with the Academic Staff Union Universities (ASUU), which also involves review of salaries of lecturers in Nigerian universities, has been a knotty issue that Dr Alausa must of necessity address this year.
Key area of focus according to stakeholders is for the government to address the challenge of out-of-school children in Nigeria that has given the country a negative image in the comity of nations. According to reports, Nigeria is known to have the highest number of out-of-school children in the world in spite of the endowment of the country.
Executive Director of Education Rights Initiative, Dr. Solomon Udah, urged the Education Minister to start strong in this year, 2025 by enunciating policies that would re-engineer the education sector, stressing that a nation’s educational system significantly contributes to its global competitiveness.
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