Nigeria’s education funding below UNESCO benchmark, says minister

Education Minister Dr Tunji Alausa has said Nigeria’s federal budget allocations to education, which have historically ranged between five and eight percent, remain far below the 15 to 20 percent benchmark recommended by UNESCO. Speaking at Obafemi Awolowo University’s 65th anniversary in Ile-Ife on Friday, Alausa warned that this persistent underfunding is crippling infrastructure, research, and access to higher education.

“Federal allocations to education have historically hovered between 5 per cent and 8 per cent of the national budget, far below the UNESCO-recommended 15-20 per cent. As a result, infrastructure decays, laboratories lack equipment, and libraries cannot subscribe to modern journals,” he said. Alausa also noted that over two million qualified candidates apply for fewer than 500,000 university spaces annually, calling it “a ticking time bomb.” He lamented a brain drain of lecturers and graduates, and said Nigeria spends less than 0.2 percent of GDP on research and development.