Nigeria’s Federal Government has raised annual nursing school admissions from 20,000 to 50,000 students to address a persistent health worker shortage across the country.
Minister of Education Dr. Tunji Alausa disclosed this on Sunday during an interview with journalists, saying the expansion formed part of broader education reforms aimed at producing a skilled workforce to drive President Bola Tinubu’s vision of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
Annual admissions into nursing schools have risen from about 20,000 to 50,000 students as the federal government works to address Nigeria’s shortage of healthcare professionals and strengthen the national health workforce, Alausa confirmed.
Alausa told reporters the government was deliberately investing in human capital development by expanding access to professional education in critical sectors. He tied the policy directly to the Tinubu administration’s economic ambitions.
“We want to be the manpower supplier of the world. We need to produce competent, skilled, and educated young Nigerians who will drive our economy, contribute to Africa’s growth, and compete successfully across the world,” Alausa stated.
Alausa noted that admissions into other health programs, specifically medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry, have also been increased. He did not provide exact figures for those disciplines during the interview.
The minister framed the nursing expansion as one component of broader education reforms designed to produce the skilled workforce required to advance the president’s economic targets. He described education as the foundation for sustainable economic growth.
“As the president advances his vision of building a one trillion-dollar economy, education will remain at the center of that transformation,” he told journalists. No timeline for reaching the 50,000 target across all institutions was provided.
Alausa expressed confidence that the reforms would help reduce Nigeria’s healthcare workforce gap within the coming years as newly trained graduates enter the system. He did not specify a projected graduation year.
On financing, the minister confirmed that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund was designed to remain financially sustainable beyond the current administration, stating: “There is no value in introducing policies that cannot stand the test of time. Sustainability is central to this administration’s philosophy, and that principle guided the design of NELFUND.”
Alausa also said the administration had restored industrial harmony in tertiary institutions through dialogue with academic and non-academic staff unions and noted that improved stability was contributing to better outcomes in the higher education sector.
Nigeria has long faced a shortage of nurses and other healthcare workers, worsened by the “Japa” phenomenon, the mass migration of trained professionals abroad in search of better remuneration and working conditions. That migration has left measurable gaps at public health facilities.
The shortfall in healthcare professionals has placed pressure on hospitals and clinics across the country, prompting the federal government to expand admissions into nursing schools as a direct countermeasure. Underinvestment in training capacity over many years compounded the shortage.
The expanded admissions program is expected to reduce pressure on Nigeria’s primary and secondary healthcare centers as thousands of newly trained graduates enter the national health workforce over the coming years. The government has not released data on current vacancy levels at public facilities.
Alausa framed the entire push, from nursing expansion to NELFUND sustainability, as education reforms tied to Tinubu’s $1 trillion economy target by 2030. The minister did not address how the government plans to retain newly trained nurses inside Nigeria.
The policy is designed to meet domestic healthcare demands while also positioning skilled Nigerian health professionals to compete in the global labor market. No independent verification of current enrollment figures was available at the time of Alausa’s interview on Sunday.
