President Bola Tinubu has given insights into what inspired the introduction of loans to students through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and other reforms in the education sector.

He recalled how financial difficulties pushed him into commercial cab driving in the United States (U.S.) to support his university education.

The president disclosed this in a post shared on his official X handle@officialABAT on Wednesday.

President Tinubu who attended Chicago State University in Illinois State, graduated with distinction, majoring in Management and Accounting.

He revealed how he delayed his university education for several months due to a lack of funds.

Tinubu said such experiences strengthened his determination to ensure that poverty does not deny any Nigerian child access to quality education.

“When I first arrived in the United States as a young man, I drove a taxi to earn money for my education. I even had to postpone starting school for several months to save enough,” he said.

He said he knows what it means to worry about tuition, accommodation and how to make ends meet while pursuing an education.

Tinubu explained that his journey reinforced his conviction that education remained one of the most effective instruments for transforming lives and creating opportunities.

“I know what education made possible in my own life, and I believe every Nigerian child deserves that same opportunity, regardless of where they are born or what their parents can afford,” he said.

Tinubu said that more than ₦372 billion had been provided through the NELFUND to support students with institutional fees and upkeep allowances.

He disclosed that the programme, which he introduced one year after he took the saddle, was designed to prevent financial difficulties from forcing young Nigerians into abandoning education.

Tinubu added that the Federal Government’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training programme had attracted more than 2.8 million applications and led to the rehabilitation of 38 technical colleges.

According to him, students in federal and selected state technical colleges now enjoy free tuition, boarding, textbooks and uniforms as part of efforts to promote skills acquisition and employability.

Tinubu also announced that his administration had reached an agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), providing for a 40 per cent increase in lecturers’ remuneration and measures to ensure greater stability in the university system.

He explained that his administration was investing N110 billion in the rehabilitation of 24 medical schools to expand Nigeria’s capacity to produce healthcare professionals.

Tinubu added that the annual nursing enrolment had increased from 28,000 to 115,000, while medical and dental enrolment had risen from 5,000 to 12,000.

“Nigeria needs more doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, and we must build the capacity to train them here at home,” he said.

President Tinubu further noted that more than one million previously out-of-school children had been returned to classrooms, alongside renewed investments in teacher development and expanded educational opportunities for girls.

He revealed that the administration was also implementing a revised national curriculum that restored Nigerian History to classrooms, arguing that children must understand their country’s past to appreciate their civic responsibilities in the future.

The President commended the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa and the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, and other officials of the ministry for advancing the administration’s education reforms.

He particularly welcomed the development of an interactive A–Z platform for the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), which provides information on government programmes, reforms, achievements and available opportunities.

Tinubu urged parents, students and teachers to visit edu4pbat.ng to acquaint themselves with the initiatives and identify programmes relevant to their needs.

He also invited Nigerians to report shortcomings in the implementation of education policies, assuring them that public feedback would help the government identify and address problems.

“If something is not working as it should in your community, I want to hear about it. Your feedback will help us identify problems and address them,” he said.