Hassan Mustapha discusses the many educational programs that the central government, led by President Bola Tinubu, has implemented in the past two years to revitalize human capital development, particularly in Northern Nigeria.
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For many years, severe underfunding, poor enrollment, and systemic and cultural constraints have impacted education in Northern Nigeria.
However, a quiet but steady change is taking place under President Bola Tinubu, one that could redefine the region’s educational future.
Asiwaju Tinubu’s groundbreaking creation of the national student loan scheme, which currently provides funding for the tuition and maintenance of over 396,000 Nigerian students, comes to mind when you think of him and education. Many people may not be aware that the majority of the young Nigerians who benefit from the program are Northern Nigerian students, who make up over 55% of the total beneficiary pool and, consequently, more than N45 billion of the N77 billion that the NELFUND has already disbursed.
While this historic initiative reduces the immediate financial burden on low-income households throughout the federation and prepares the youth for full participation in the knowledge-based national economy of the future, President Tinubu’s massive legacy has diverted attention from a number of other silent reforms and mass-scale developments in Northern education that took place during his administration and will put the region’s students on par with their peers worldwide.
An entity is only as strong as its weakest connection, according to an old maxim. One of the most important and unsolvable aspects of Nigeria’s protracted developmental quagmire has been the availability and quality of education in Northern Nigeria.
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President Tinubu is now committed to transforming another liability into a significant national asset, much like the threat posed by the Atlantic’s roaring waves and approaching seas on Lagos’ shoreline.
Tinubu’s administration is constructing the foundation for an inclusive, cutting-edge, and resilient education system in Northern Nigeria by addressing the issue of out-of-school children, creating skill development centers, and updating policy frameworks.
The situation of education in the North was unstable before to 2023. More than 66% of the estimated 10.5 million out-of-school youngsters in the nation lived in the region. There was no supervision or formal education integration in the Almajiri system. School attendance was further lowered by poverty, instability, and cultural norms, particularly for girls and children living in rural areas. The issue was made worse by inadequate infrastructure, out-of-date courses, and a shortage of teachers.
Despite inheriting these issues, President Tinubu’s administration chose structural reform over band-aid solutions. The changes in infrastructure investment are among the most obvious. A foundational step toward functioning learning spaces has been taken with the establishment of more than 120 learning centers in all senatorial districts, many of which are furnished with furniture, safe water systems, and solar power.
With new integrated Tsangaya education centers scattered throughout Bauchi, Niger, Kaduna, and Kano states, 101 Almajiri schools were constructed or renovated in collaboration with UBEC.
The administration created the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE) to coordinate these initiatives. The Commission has already established a Technical Working Group (TWG) for strategic reform and created the first draft of a national policy on Almajiri education.
The Federal Ministry of Health’s proposed Almajiri Health Scheme seeks to offer health insurance to children enrolled in school, transforming education into a route to wellness rather than merely literacy.
DOTS and NESRI, two historic projects, are at the core of Tinubu’s approach. While NESRI (National Education System Reform Initiative) promotes structural change in curricula, learning outcomes, and school administration, DOTS concentrates on data, out-of-school children, teacher training, and skill development.
A new Basic Education Curriculum was created as a result of these frameworks, and the Senior Secondary and NCE curriculum are currently being reviewed. To expedite teacher capacity, federal institutes of education implemented a dual-mode delivery system for NCE and B.Ed. Workshops on curriculum review were held in Kaduna and Kano, and more than 450 Tsangaya teachers were educated, including 200 in Bauchi and 250 in Niger.
Additionally, in order to improve fund use and assist EMIS (Education Management Information Systems), quality assurance, and digital learning, the UBEC Matching Grant Formula was updated to provide more flexibility and tie payouts to quantifiable success.
The practical focus of President Tinubu’s TVET Transformation Initiative makes it stand out. It was established with 24 primary trades and offers instruction in a variety of fields, including electrical work, solar installation, digital gear repair, creative media, hospitality, and agriculture. Youth in underprivileged areas, such as the North, are the focus of this initiative’s Digital Training Academy.
In addition to being technical, the courses focus on the future. From social media communication to automobile CNG conversion, the program covers both local employability and global significance. The 3MTT (3 million Technical Talent) program, which aims to develop a workforce that is proficient in digital technology throughout all 774 LGAs, including the rural regions of Katsina, Sokoto, and Borno, matches this.
This is enhanced by the STEMM Advancement Initiative, which increases the number of scientists and health professionals in Nigeria. Infrastructure improvements were made at 18 medical schools located in each of the six geopolitical zones. The number of recognized nursing schools rose from 294 to 342 and the number of nursing students enrolled climbed from 81,480 in 2023 to 114,030 in 2025.
Six institutions have been chosen to benefit from a strategic partnership with the EU that also supports pharmaceutical research and domestic vaccine manufacture.
The education of girls, a persistent deficiency in Northern Nigeria, has significantly improved under Tinubu’s leadership. There are now 18 states in the country that are part of the AGILE project (Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment).
In order to further minimize gender disparities in education and create support networks for girls in vulnerable communities, LUMINAH 2030, a new project centered on girls, was also introduced in 12 pilot states, two of which were in each geopolitical zone.
The administration has spearheaded significant policy changes in addition to tangible initiatives. With the establishment of the Quality Education Learning Outcomes Council (QELOC) in March 2025, notable advancements in teacher preparation and school system enhancements have already been realized. Five EduRevamp modules and a new National Teacher Training Framework were created to help teachers gain 21st-century abilities, and school administrators were given access to a national leadership curriculum.
In 2025, the Ministry also unveiled the National Anti-Bullying Policy, along with implementation guidelines, in an attempt to enhance student welfare. The government hopes to improve access, learning, and system-wide efficiency by implementing the HOPE-EDU plan, which will affect approximately 65,000 schools, 500,000 teachers, and 29 million children.
In the sometimes overlooked narrative of the region’s progress, President Tinubu’s reforms to education stand out as some of the most planned and calculated changes to date.
The administration’s emphasis on human capital development is gradually but surely changing the narrative surrounding education in the north, from focused interventions in the Almajiri system to extensive vocational training and legislative changes.
Classrooms are reviving not merely with pupils but also with a purpose as a result of the president’s calculated educational intervention. This aligns with the president’s statement that his objective is to “make education work for all, not some,” as some of his most ambitious and narrow-minded detractors have falsely claimed.
