PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has proposed N3.52 trillion of the total N47.90 trillion national budget for the education sector.
This allocation, however, still falls short of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) benchmark, which recommends that at least 15 to 20 per cent of a national budget be directed toward education.
Tinubu, on Wednesday, December 18, while presenting the 2025 national budget, titled “Budget of Restoration: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity,” to the joint session of the National Assembly, outlined approaches to addressing Nigeria’s key development priorities.
The proposed N3.52 trillion for the education sector, represents 7.3 per cent of the total budget, a marginal increase from the 5.5 per cent allocated in 2024.
The allocation, according to the President, reflected the administration’s commitment to enhancing human capital development, a critical component of its Renewed Hope Agenda.
Tinubu also stressed that his administration had so far disbursed 34 billion naira to over 300,000 students via the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
Given the breakdown by the President, the education sector allocation includes provisions for infrastructure development, teacher training, and the expansion of educational opportunities across the country.
“In the 2025 budget, we have made provision for 826.90 billion naira for infrastructure development in the educational sector. This provision also includes those for the Universal Basic Education (UBEC) and the nine new higher educational institutions,” Tinubu said.
This also means that the largest bulk of the money goes to paying salaries, with only 23.5 per cent allocated for infrastructure development.
The ICIR earlier in the year reported that Tinubu allocated only 5.98 per cent of the 2024 budget of N24.08 trillion to the sector.
A review of the 2024 approved budget revealed that N1.59 trillion, or 5.5 per cent, of the N28.77 trillion, was allocated to education.
This was despite the President’s several promises during his campaign and post-election addresses to reform the education sector by augmenting funding.
Out of the allocation to the Education Ministry, N480 billion (N480,781,350,182) was budgeted for capital projects, constituting 30.3 per cent, and the overhead budget stands at 4.5 per cent, totalling N72.1 billion (N72,124,230,514).
Meanwhile, personnel allocation is slightly over a trillion (1,036,484,193,887), translating to 65.2 per cent of the ministry’s budget.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M