Abuja – The Federal Ministry of Education announced that President Bola Tinubu has approved a N250 billion allocation for the construction of student hostels across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. The funding was disclosed by Minister of Education Dr Tunji Alausa on Wednesday during the inauguration of governing boards, principal officers and chief executives of agencies under the ministry.
The approval represents the government’s first large‑scale, dedicated investment aimed at tackling the chronic shortage of student accommodation in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. According to the minister, the N250 billion will be used to build hostels in at least 50 tertiary institutions, with each institution slated to receive roughly N2 billion to provide around 500 bed spaces.
In addition to the direct allocation, a further N90 billion will be mobilised through Public‑Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements for 24 federal institutions. Those PPP projects are expected to deliver between 1,200 and 1,500 bed spaces per institution. “We have several of those schools whose constructions have already started cumulatively, N250 billion in 2026 to provide student accommodation alone,” Alausa said.
The funding model combines federal resources with contributions from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and private investors. TETFund will supply N1 billion in counterpart funding per institution, while private partners are projected to invest approximately N4 billion each. The minister highlighted that the investment aligns with President Tinubu’s “missionary” leadership and the Renewed Hope Agenda, which seeks to strengthen human‑capital development and position education as a catalyst for national transformation.
The initiative responds to long‑standing accommodation deficits at institutions such as Lagos State University and Yaba College of Technology. Alausa emphasized that the Ministry has received the highest budgetary allocation in the country for two consecutive years, reflecting the administration’s focus on outcome‑driven reforms rather than policy formulation alone.
Alongside the hostel programme, the Minister announced supplementary investments: N130 billion for engineering and technology workshops and N120 billion to upgrade medical schools nationwide. He called on the newly inaugurated board members to ensure accountability, reinforce oversight and improve institutional performance across all agencies.
Prof Babatunde Salako, Chairman of the NBTE Governing Board, pledged to uphold transparency and strengthen institutions to better align education outcomes with Nigeria’s economic needs. The host‑el construction programme is expected to commence later this year, with completion timelines varying by institution.
