The Federal Government of Nigeria has set aside N47 billion to improve agricultural and medical education across the country.
The funding aims to strengthen food security and develop a more robust healthcare workforce to support national growth.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, during a meeting with Pro-Chancellors of federal universities in Abuja on Tuesday.
The N47 billion allocation will be distributed as follows: N30 billion for agricultural universities and N17 billion for 18 medical schools. Of the N30 billion for agricultural universities, each institution will receive N1 billion to establish mechanized farms.
Dr. Alausa emphasized the significance of mechanized farming and livestock production in agricultural universities.
“Every university with a faculty of agriculture will be required to set up mechanised farming and livestock production.
“We are putting aside N30 billion for this initiative. This aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s priority on food security. We want you to create opportunities for the future using your position and power,” he stated.
The Minister further noted that N17 billion would be allocated to 18 medical schools across Nigeria. This funding aims to strengthen the country’s medical workforce by focusing on the training of doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and nurses.
“This funding aims to strengthen Nigeria’s medical workforce, focusing on high-impact projects for medical education. We’ve identified N17 billion for special high-impact projects with TETFund. This will directly support the training of doctors, pharmacists, dentists, and nurses across 18 universities,” he added.
Dr. Alausa raised concerns about specialized universities offering programs outside their core mandates.
He noted that some Universities of Agriculture were offering courses in accounting, while Universities of Technology were running insurance programs.
He emphasized the need to address these deviations to ensure universities stay focused on their original purposes.
