NEF 2025: Tackling Education Crisis through Sustainable Financing

As Nigeria grapples with widening gaps in learning and skills, the 2025 Nigeria Education Forum emerged as a crucial platform to chart sustainable financing solutions, rally stakeholders, and drive reforms needed to rebuild an equitable, resilient education system for the future of Nigeria, writes  Oluchi  Chibuzor

Nigeria’s most consequential conversation on education financing in recent years held in Abuja on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, declaring that the country has reached “a defining moment” and must overhaul how it invests in its young population.

Welcoming delegates to the maiden Nigeria Education Forum (NEF), the Kwara State Governor, who is the NGF Chairman, said the gathering brought together “the nation’s leading voices in education” and serves as a national think tank for building a coherent pathway to sustainable funding and sector reforms.

He thanked a long list of partners and sponsors, including Premium Trust Bank, Edo, Enugu and Kano State Governments, NewGlobe, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Bayelsa and Plateau State Governments, Samsung West Africa and Seplat Energy.

“To all our guests and participants, I bring you warm greetings from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, a collaborative platform through which the 36 Governors champion good governance, human capital development, and sustainable economic transformation,” he said.

Critical Moment for Nigeria’s Youthful Population

AbdulRazaq said Nigeria’s demographic reality demands urgent and strategic investment.

He added: “With 43 percent of our population under the age of 14 years and another 33 percent between 15 and 24 years old, our demographic trajectory presents an extraordinary opportunity for wise and systemic investment.”

But the data remains sobering.

“National education spending remains at three percent of GDP,” he said, which is far below the global benchmark of four to six percent.

Budgetary allocations of eight percent at the federal level and 14 percent across states still fall short of UNESCO’s recommended 15 to 20 percent.

Even where states are improving allocations, the real challenge lies in implementation.

“In 2024, states utilised only 67 percent of budgeted funds, resulting in an N800 billion shortfall rooted in unexecuted capital projects,” he warned. “This recurring implementation gap is one of the most urgent issues before us.”

States Increasing Funding, But Execution Is Lagging

The forum heard that states spent N1 trillion on education in 2022, budgeted N1.6 trillion in 2023 and increased this to N2.4 trillion in 2024. For 2025, states collectively raised the allocation to N3.6 trillion, “driven largely by a 69 percent rise in capital allocations.”

The projection for 2026 is even more ambitious. Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Kaduna, Katsina and Abia alone are expected to appropriate N1.8 trillion. Kano, Enugu, Kaduna and Abia will commit 30, 32, 25 and 20 percent of their budgets, respectively, while “two-thirds of the states are projected to meet the 15 percent global benchmark.”

He acknowledged fiscal constraints. “We are hopeful of addressing debt servicing challenge which exceeds total education expenditure in some states,” he said, noting that this limits the ability to invest in teachers, foundational learning, TVET and higher education. Still, he insisted that “modalities have been put in place to address these critical needs.”

Three Strategic Priorities for States

AbdulRazaq outlined the three pillars the NGF is strengthening to support state-level transformation.

Access and Continuity: States are expanding interventions to improve enrolment, retention and transition, especially for girls, vulnerable learners and underserved areas. “The role of the State Universal Basic Education Boards, Commissioners of Education and state planning agencies remains central to deepening equitable access,” he said.

Learning and Skills Development: He said states are “rethinking instructional models to strengthen literacy and numeracy, deepen teacher capacity and embed the skills sets needed for Nigeria’s educational and economic competitiveness.” Initiatives range from digital learning environments to competence-based TVET reform.

Sustainable Financing and Efficient Delivery: “The future requires more than higher budgets; it demands smarter financing and disciplined execution,” he said. He called for improved domestic revenue mobilisation, pooled funds, education bonds, strong industry partnerships and transparent mechanisms to protect capital investments.

Role of ‘Town and Gown’

The forum’s theme, Pathways to Sustainable Education Financing, placed emphasis on aligning academia, industry and government.

He highlighted three essentials: “Education and industry must co-create solutions that reflect labour market realities and skill sets for employability; financing must be diversified, predictable and resilient.

“Universities, polytechnics and research institutions must evolve into engines of innovation and value creation.”

For him, education reform is no longer a choice, but “an economic, social and national security imperative.”

He said the next two days should help “crystallise a collective strategy” for a modern, future-ready education ecosystem.

Strengthening State Capability Through NGF Academy

AbdulRazaq reaffirmed the central role of the NGF Academy and Leadership Centre. He described it as “our premier institution for advancing executive leadership, governance excellence and evidence-driven policymaking.”

He said the Academy would continue to provide “cutting-edge analytics, capacity-building tools and dynamic peer-learning platforms” to help states elevate planning, sharpen budget efficiency and deliver transformational results.

As he closed, he thanked partners and saluted states “working tirelessly to reposition education as the foundation of Nigeria’s prosperity.”

The Governor expressed confidence that NEF 2025 would mark “the beginning of a new era, one where financing matches ambition, execution matches commitment, and education becomes the engine that powers our national renewal.”

Nigeria’s governors are signaling that education financing is set for a structural shift, with states preparing to meet global benchmarks and embrace stronger accountability for how funds are used.

The speech frames education not just as social policy but as an economic and security priority, linking investment outcomes directly to the country’s demographic future. It also positions the NGF as the central driver of subnational reforms.