Nigeria and Italy have joined forces to spearhead a major global campaign to mobilise $5 billion in fresh financing for education, with the Federal Government declaring that increased investment in human capital is critical to Nigeria’s economic future.
The initiative was unveiled on Wednesday in New York, United States, at the high-level Multiply Possibility event, tagged “A New Era for Education Financing,” held on the margins of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a video message to the gathering, said the vision of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) was closely aligned with his administration’s education agenda, particularly its focus on improving learning outcomes, expanding access and building the capacity of teachers.
The President also commended stakeholders in the GPE for their efforts to accelerate education financing across the world.
Representing Tinubu at the event, Vice President Kashim Shettima declared that Nigeria viewed education not as a peripheral government expense but as a strategic investment in productivity, prosperity and national stability.
«“For Nigeria, education is not an expenditure at the margins of our development agenda. It is an investment in our economic future, national productivity, and the prosperity and stability of our people,”»
Shettima said.
According to a statement issued by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Shettima said the Tinubu administration had substantially increased resources devoted to education since 2023 while pursuing reforms aimed at strengthening basic education financing, expanding foundational learning and improving access to tertiary and technical education.
He said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund was also being used to widen access to higher education while strengthening the connection between education, skills, employment and enterprise.
FG Opens New Domestic Funding Front
The Vice President disclosed that the administration was looking beyond conventional budgetary allocations to mobilise additional resources for education.
He said Tinubu had directed that funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, once legally cleared and free from litigation, should be channelled into the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Shettima added that the Federal Executive Council had recently approved the consideration of unclaimed dividends and dormant funds for the same purpose, subject to applicable legal requirements.
He said the measures demonstrated Nigeria’s determination to mobilise every responsible and lawful domestic source of financing for education.
The Vice President also highlighted Nigeria’s partnership with the World Bank and GPE under HOPE-EDU, saying the programme was expected to reach approximately 29 million children and 500,000 teachers across the country.
“This is precisely why GPE matters. GPE does not replace national investment; it multiplies it,” Shettima said.
He said the ambition was to mobilise $5 billion for GPE and use the funding to unlock additional resources for education in partner countries.
“Domestic resources must remain the anchor, complemented by development assistance, concessional finance, philanthropy and innovative financing,” he added.
Shettima said Nigeria’s rapidly growing population could become one of its greatest economic assets if young people were equipped with quality education, relevant skills and meaningful opportunities.
He also called for a smarter approach to international development financing amid declining global aid, saying scarce international resources should be deployed to leverage significantly larger investments.
He urged participants to ensure that the $5 billion campaign became more than a fundraising exercise, describing it as a renewed compact around human capital development involving national governments, international partners and responsible financing.
Italy Pledges €50m As Global Support Builds
Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, in a video presentation, praised Tinubu’s leadership and Nigeria’s efforts to improve educational outcomes across all levels.
Meloni also called on partners in the global alliance to demonstrate greater commitment to reversing the decline in education financing in developing countries.
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, thanked governments and partners for supporting efforts to improve education financing in developing countries.
Mohammed urged international financial institutions to help committed countries create the fiscal space needed to improve education outcomes, including investment in teacher training and capacity building.
Chair of the GPE Board of Directors, Jakaya Kikwete, said the event underscored the central role of education in advancing human rights, security and peace.
He said the GPE campaign was being driven by declining development assistance for education and a widening financing gap.
Also speaking, girls’ education activist Malala Yousafzai called for stronger global collaboration on education financing and urged governments and multilateral institutions to devote more resources to gender equality in education.
She particularly stressed the need to address the challenges facing girls in developing countries.
Governments and donors at the event made commitments towards the education of at least 370 million children globally, while Italy pledged €50 million to GPE programmes and interventions.
The commitments form part of the wider push by Nigeria, Italy and other partners to mobilise the proposed $5 billion GPE financing package and expand education investment across developing countries.
