Tinubu Allocates N47B to Universities of Agriculture, Medical Schools

The Federal Government has earmarked N47 billion to enhance the development of agricultural universities and medical schools across Nigeria.

This funding initiative is aimed at fostering innovation in agriculture and improving healthcare training nationwide, as disclosed by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, during a meeting with pro-chancellors of federal universities in Abuja on Tuesday.

The allocation includes N30 billion for agricultural universities and N17 billion for 18 medical schools. Mr Alausa stated that the N30 billion for agricultural universities would be utilised to establish mechanised farms, with each institution receiving N1 billion.

He highlighted the significance of this initiative in addressing food security challenges, stating, “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.”

For medical schools, Mr Alausa revealed that the allocated N17 billion would be used to strengthen Nigeria’s medical workforce through high-impact projects, supporting the training of healthcare professionals such as doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and nurses across 18 universities.

“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,” he said.

The minister also voiced concerns about some specialised universities offering programmes outside their primary mandates. He noted that some agricultural universities were running courses in accounting, while universities of technology offered programmes in insurance, describing this as a deviation from their intended focus.

Mr Alausa stressed the importance of skilled workers in emerging technologies, highlighting over one million job opportunities in areas such as cloud computing (300,000 jobs), machine learning and AI (300,000 jobs), and natural language processing (250,000 jobs).

He urged university governing councils and management to collaborate respectfully and efficiently, adding, “While councils are not involved in the daily operations of the universities, they are responsible for robust supervision and oversight. The ministry will support you to create an enabling environment for universities to function effectively.”

He also advised councils to ensure that budgets and procurement processes adhere to established guidelines.

Yayale Ahmed, chairman of the committee of pro-chancellors of federal universities and pro-chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, praised the meeting as an opportunity for pro-chancellors to reflect on their roles. He emphasised the importance of sharing innovative ideas and developing strategies to improve university governance and management.