Nigeria needs $345 million annually to tackle school dropout crisis —Education Minister, Alausa

The Federal Government has revealed that Nigeria needs about $345 million annually to address the growing crisis of out-of-school children, as efforts to reintegrate millions of affected youths into the education system intensify.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, stated this on Tuesday during the Federal Ministry of Education’s Private Sector Breakfast held in Lagos.

According to him, this estimate reflects the current costs needed to provide access to education and important skills for around 15 million children who are currently outside the formal school system.

He noted that the challenges remain huge, with 25 percent of children aged between 5 and 14 years out of school nationally, a figure that rises sharply to 41 percent in the North East and North West regions.

Although reforms are underway under the Nigerian Education Sector Reform Initiative, the minister stressed that more resources are needed to complement the government’s efforts.

“Challenges in Nigeria’s education sector present a huge opportunity to increase access, improve quality and improve the system,” the minister said.

He added that education remains at the heart of the government’s “New Hope” agenda, which aims to develop Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

Highlighting the steps taken, Alausa said government had disbursed N10.6 billion to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centers across the country, in addition to N3.4 billion paid directly to trainees.

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He revealed that the program has attracted 1.3 million applicants, with 160,000 students successfully matched to training centers and 72,000 currently registered using biometric verification.

The minister further revealed that over N156 billion has been committed to improving infrastructure in tertiary institutions, including the rehabilitation of 18 medical schools and several engineering faculties.

“N70 billion has been spent on rehabilitation of laboratories and technology workshops, and N100 billion on new dormitories in 50 institutions,” he said.

In an effort to support innovation among students, the government has also introduced Student Venture Capital Grants targeted at students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medical Sciences.

Alausa explained that a N50 million equity free grant had been allocated, and 65 students had been selected for the initiative.

He also announced an international collaboration with the Italian government aimed at mobilizing global funding for education.

“And this conference will raise $5 billion with other catalytic funding of about N10 billion, for a total of $15 billion to support basic learning in 90 countries around the world,” he stressed.

The minister called on private sector stakeholders to align with government priorities through the proposed Education Sector Approach, which he said would ensure transparency and accountability.

Also speaking, the Minister of Education, Suwaiba Ahmad, emphasized the importance of collaboration in transforming this sector.

“The government alone cannot achieve the scale of transformation required. The private sector remains an important partner in driving innovation, expanding infrastructure and supporting skills development,” he said.

The ministry highlighted important milestones in its reform framework, including the reintegration of one million children into formal education, the training of 1,400 Tsangaya teachers for Almajiri education, and the mapping of 32 million students and 221,000 schools in 21 states to improve data and digital planning.

It was also stated that N128 billion had been disbursed through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, benefiting over 1.1 million students across the country.

To bridge the existing funding gap, the government is promoting innovative financing models such as the Global Partnership for Education Multiplier, which matches private sector contributions on a one-to-one basis.

Officials at the event also presented data showing that each additional year of schooling in Nigeria can increase individual income by 5.7 percent and increase productivity by six percent, reinforcing the importance of continued investment in education.