NIGERIA: FG Launches N45,000 Monthly Grant for Technical College Students in TVET Revival Plan

By Ameenat Hamzat, Lagos, Nigeria 

In a bold step to reposition Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Nigeria, the Federal Government has announced a monthly stipend of N45,000 for students enrolled in technical colleges across the country.

The initiative, disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Professor Idris Bugaje, marks a major policy shift designed to attract young Nigerians to vocational education as a practical alternative to traditional university degrees.

Bugaje, speaking in Abuja during a briefing on President Bola Tinubu’s second year in office on Wednesday, described the move as part of a “resurrection” of the nation’s struggling TVET sector. He revealed that the government has earmarked N120 billion through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to support this scheme.

He said: “The N45,000 is not a loan, but a grant. Students who enjoy this are not going to pay back. We want to encourage more people to enrol in technical education.”

Under the plan, the government will also cover tuition fees, fund industry-based training through master class instructors, and pay for nationally recognized skill certifications.

“The government will pay school fees, give money to industry-based supervisors (called master class instructors), and cover the cost of skill certification.

“With this, young people will find it more attractive to come to a technical college, acquire skills qualifications, get jobs locally and even beyond the borders of Nigeria.

“This way, the whole sector is being repositioned. We are at the moment facing what you may call either a resurrection or a rebirth of TVET.”

Bugaje lamented the decline in technical education since the 1980s, noting that the number of technical colleges has dropped to just 129 nationwide, compared to over 15,000 senior secondary schools.

“During colonial days and the early part of our independence, TVET had received attention. But, since the 1980s, we have been going down the drain. That is why the number of technical colleges has dropped, from 129 at the moment, compared to 15,000 senior secondary schools in Nigeria,” he said.

To sustain the programme, a National Skills Fund is also in the works. Bugaje said the Ministry of Education is finalising a bill that would institutionalise the fund under a new Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework.

Bugaje added; “This was an idea we have been talking about in the past years, but the new minister has taken it up. The bill shall soon be presented in the National Assembly to establish the Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework and under it, the National Skills Fund. The National Skills Fund will continue to fund TVET institutions, not only those in government colleges but also those in the private sector,”