Education
Education Sector: FG Invests N1.3trl in Four Years

As CBN plans support for Diagnostic Centres
By Mathew Dadiya, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, reiterated his administration’s commitment to providing quality of education in the country.
The President gave the assurance when he inaugurated the newly completed Post-Graduate Centre of Excellence at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, constructed and donated to the school by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Before unveiling the commemorative plaque to formally inaugurate the edifice that sits on a total floor area of 34,102.81sqm, President Buhari said the construction of the project was a testimony to his administration’s effort at supporting qualitative learning from the primary through to the tertiary level.
According to him, his administration, in the past four years, had invested about N1.3 trillion in the educational sector of the country, excluding personnel and overhead costs.The President assured that his administration, in its second term, in spite of funding challenges, will continue to accord education priority by ensuring adequate funding for the sector to make it affordable, qualitative and competitive with what was obtainable in more developed countries.
While lauding the vision of the late Sarduana of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello in establishing the university, he commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for supporting the Federal Government’s investments in the educational sector as well as other keys areas of the economy tied to overall national development, he urged the Bank to sustain such funding support for research and overall economic development.
Welcoming the President to the complex earlier, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele said the Bank’s involvement in the funding and infrastructural support in the educational sector was borne out of the conviction that an educated workforce played a critical role in the advancement of the Nigerian economy and the society in general.
He said the Bank’s analysis of the factors responsible for the growth of successful economies, indicated that investment in education played a prominent role in driving innovation and growth in advanced and emerging economies, while also contributing to significant reductions in inequality. Hence, he said the CBN, being a knowledge-driven organization, had to ensure the sustenance of improvements in institutions of higher learning across the country.
The Centre of Excellence, according to the apex bank boss, was also designed to accommodate the Central Bank of Nigeria Collaborative Postgraduate Programme (CBN-CPP), which he described as a child of necessity in the Bank’s intervention programme in the educational sub-sector. He explained that the project was conceived to produce a critical mass of skilled professionals that will be able to apply their knowledge towards supporting growth and continued innovation in our nation’s financial sector and the economy in general. “This was against the recognition that the dearth of skilled manpower constituted a binding constraint towards making Nigeria the number 1 hub for economic activity in Africa, he added.
He also disclosed that the three first generation federal universities in the country across the six geo-political zones (Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, University of Ibadan (UI), Ibadan and the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka) were selected under the first phase of the intervention programme. He added that the programme was later expanded to cover six other tertiary institutions across Nigeria, which are nearing completion.
He added that the project was mainly to ensure that students at post-graduate levels in Economics, Accounting, Banking and Finance, Business Administration and Statistics study in a serene environment that would stimulate effective learning with a view to building human capacity for the financial services sub-sector.
Emefiele assured that the CBN, working closely with all the participating universities, had taken steps to ensure that this investment yields considerable benefits. Specifically, he said the curricula for the target disciplines had been reviewed and harmonized across board to ensure students are provided with the optimum level of knowledge relative to their peers in other parts of the globe.
“We believe that the Centres of Excellence will help support the government’s efforts towards reducing the incidence of brain drain, and curtail the huge foreign exchange being spent on school fees for Nigerians studying in other countries,” Emefiele said.
While disclosing that the three Centres of Excellence in Zaria, Enugu and Ibadan will commence operation in October 2019, he said the CBN expected the universities to take maximum advantage of the world class facilities provided by the Bank to challenge their counterparts in London, New York and Dubai in the provision of training programmes in banking and finance-related disciplines for the global business community
He also thanked stakeholders in the Federal Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission (NUC), the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and the contractor, Messrs Afdin Nigeria Limited, for their support in completing the project, stressing that such collaborations were necessary for progress.
The Post-Graduate School project, similar to the project inaugurated by President Buhari at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC) in January 2019, comprises a Faculty building and a block of rooms, as well as a 544-seater auditorium, four lecture and four tutorial rooms, traditional and e-libraries, and a telepresence room.
Meanwhile, the CBN Governor has disclosed plans by the Bank, in the near future, to also provide funding support for the health sector in the country, through the establishment of six diagnostic centres across the geo-political zones of the country.
He said the decision of the Bank to support the health sector was based on the realization that education and health formed the bedrock of development in any society.
Education
UNICAL VC Promises to Resolve Dentistry Students’ Crisis

From Ene Asuquo, Calabar
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Prof. Florence Obi has promised that she would do everything humanly possible to ensure that the ongoing crisis in the institution’s Department of Dentistry, is resolved.
Prof.
Obi made the promise in Calabar during a press briefing, stressing that she will resolve the crisis before leaving office.She explained that the problem predates her administration, and pledged to intensify efforts to rectify the crisis.
She added that the crisis was as a result of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN)’s refusal to induct 2016 Dentistry students of the institution.She also debunked claims circulating on social media that the institution’s Dentistry programme has lost its accreditation, describing the reports as “misinformation and distortion of facts,” clarifying that the programme remains fully accredited and no students have been directed to transfer to other universities.
“At no point did the University ask Dentistry students to seek transfers to other institutions, nor were they advised to ‘go and learn a trade’ as falsely alleged online,” the VC stated.
“I will feel very bad if I leave without solving this problem and the students are left hanging without knowing their fate. I won’t be fulfilled,” she said.
She reaffirmed the University’s commitment to ensuring all Dentistry students graduate and are duly licensed as dental surgeons.
She noted that the Dentistry programme commenced in the 2013/2014 academic session, and in November 2019, the University secured pre-clinical accreditation from the MDCN and full clinical accreditation was subsequently granted in December 2022.
The VC added that the university’s synergy and partnership with the Minister of Education and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to upgrade its facilities.
“All we asked for is time to engage with other institutions, update the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), and follow through on due processes,” she noted.
Speaking further, Obi said that some of the affected students demanded to be transferred to the Department of Medicine and Surgery but said it was not the solution as the department was already saturated.
She urged the affected students to remain calm, noting that the university was doing everything possible to resolve the issues before the end of her tenure.
Education
NUT Reaffirms Commitment to Teachers’ Professional Development in Kwara

From Abdullahi Abubakar, Ilorin
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Kwara State Wing has restated its commitment to strengthening the professional growth of teachers across the State, to enhance the quality of education delivered in public schools. Speaking at the opening of a three-day capacity-building workshop in Ilorin, the State Chairman of the Union, Comrade Yusuf Wahab Agboola, noted that continuous training of teachers remains a vital component of educational reform and improved classroom delivery.
The training, organised in collaboration with the NUT National Secretariat, is targeted at selected teachers and focuses on the “Study Circle Conveners’ Model”—a grassroots strategy for enhancing peer-to-peer learning and participatory leadership within the education sector.
Comrade Agboola explained that the workshop aims to equip teachers with practical skills in collaborative learning, peer engagement, and innovative teaching practices. He expressed optimism that the training would promote professional bonding among teachers and foster collective solutions to challenges facing the education sector.Also speaking at the event, the National Coordinator of the NUT Study Circle Project, Comrade Solomon Igbelowowa, traced the initiative’s roots to 1985 when it was introduced in Nigeria by the Swedish Teachers Association, having recorded success in Sweden and other parts of the world. He commended the Nigerian Union of Teachers for sustaining the project over the years and urged participants to engage fully and make the most of the training opportunity.
The workshop was officially declared open by the National President of the NUT, Audu Amba, who was represented by the 3rd National Vice President, Bashir Oyewo.
He encouraged teachers to approach the sessions with dedication and punctuality.
Education
JAMB Sets 150 Cut-off Mark for University Admissions

By Tony Obiechina Abuja
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has fixed 150 as the minimum cut-off mark for admission into Nigerian universities for the 2025/2026 academic session.
The decision was reached on Tuesday during the 2025 Policy Meeting on Admissions, held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, with stakeholders from various tertiary institutions in attendance.
According to JAMB, 140 was approved as the minimum score for colleges of nursing sciences, while polytechnics, colleges of education, and colleges of agriculture will admit candidates with a minimum score of 100.
“The minimum admissible scores for admissions for the next academic session have been fixed at 150 for universities, 100 for polytechnics, 100 for colleges of education, and 140 for colleges of nursing sciences by the stakeholders (Heads of Tertiary Institutions),” JAMB announced via its official X account.