In a bold move, the Federal Government has announced the cancellation of foreign training for Nigerian scholars.
The decision was disclosed by the Minister of Education, Dr. Mauruf Alausa, during a three-day conference organized by the British Council in Abuja.
The conference, themed “Building Sustainable and Relevant Tertiary Institutions and Systems in Africa,” drew attention to the future of higher education on the continent.
Dr. Alausa explained that the government is prioritizing local capacity-building.
“We have just decided to cancel foreign training for scholars. The amount of money we are spending to train one scholar abroad, we could use it to train 20 people here,” he said.
According to him, scholars will now receive training within Nigeria, with a focus on enhancing local institutions.
The minister emphasized that more funds would be allocated to research, innovation, and the welfare of academic and non-academic staff.
“We will unleash capacity in our universities. We are going to be spending more money now on research, innovation, and also on welfare,” he added.
A New Era for Technical and Vocational Training
Dr. Alausa also highlighted a renewed focus on technical, vocational, and educational training (TVET).
He revealed plans to incentivize young Nigerians to acquire technical skills.
“We will pay for their tuition as a second step, and as a third step, a master craft person, when they will get their practical training, we will pay them as well,” he announced.
The new curriculum, according to him, will prioritize practical learning.
“The curriculum will be 80 percent practical on-the-job training and 20 percent didactic. As they are finishing, we will also give them entrepreneurial grants, not loans,” he explained.
Addressing Education Funding Misconceptions
The minister criticized public misconceptions about education funding.
He stressed that the government’s investment goes beyond the budget allocated to the Ministry of Education.
“People just look at what is budgeted to the education ministry, but not really counting the fact that it is also funding federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education,” he said.
Calls for Stronger Tertiary Institutions
Speaking at the event, Dr. Richard Montgomery, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, emphasized the need for sustainable and resilient tertiary institutions in Africa.
He warned that Africa’s population could hit 2.5 billion by 2050.
“Africa is growing. It has a hugely young population. It is going to be 2.5 billion people by 2050,” he said.
Montgomery stressed the importance of harnessing this demographic growth to build a skilled workforce.
“We need to evolve higher education systems so that they are better able to harness talent and produce graduate skills aligned to the growing economies,” he added.
According to him, social progress and economic prosperity rely heavily on a healthy tertiary education system.
UK-Nigeria Education Partnership
The British High Commissioner highlighted ongoing collaborations between Nigerian institutions and UK universities.
“The transnational education partnership that we have agreed in Nigeria is creating more linkages between Nigerian higher education institutions and UK universities,” he said.
Montgomery expressed hope that these partnerships would unlock additional funding and expertise.
“In 2022, we had about 750,000 overseas students who came to the UK to study in our higher education institutions, and many of them, tens of thousands, come from the African continent,” he noted.
