Between 2015 and 2025, Nigeria’s education budget has steadily declined from 10.75% to just 5.47% of the national budget, marking a troubling decade of underinvestment in the country’s most vital development sector. This downward trend continues to spark serious concerns about the government’s commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which advocates for inclusive and equitable quality education for all.
UNESCO recommends that between 15% and 20% of a country’s annual budget be allocated to education. Nigeria, however, has consistently fallen short of this benchmark, with education allocations hovering below 8% in most of the last ten years. In 2025, President Bola Tinubu announced that N3.5 trillion had been earmarked for education, but official figures from the 2024 approved budget show only N1.59 trillion—just 5.5% of the N28.77 trillion national budget—was dedicated to the sector.
This disparity between political rhetoric and actual budget implementation has not gone unnoticed by education experts and advocates. The consistent decline in funding has far-reaching consequences, including dilapidated school infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, low teacher morale, and poor learning outcomes. Despite repeated promises, education remains one of the most underfunded sectors in Nigeria’s budget.
A closer examination of the 2024 education budget reveals that N480 billion—about 30.3%—was allocated to capital projects, while N72.1 billion (4.5%) was set aside for overheads. The bulk of the funds, over N1.03 trillion or 65.2%, went to personnel costs, largely salaries and allowances. This means that while schools may have teachers, they lack the physical and digital infrastructure to support quality teaching and learning.
Experts argue that Nigeria’s consistent failure to adequately fund education stems from a combination of poor policy prioritisation and systemic inefficiencies. “We cannot continue to preach the gospel of transformation without financial commitment,” said Dr. Tunde Adeoye, a development economist. “The budget tells you where a country’s heart is. And Nigeria’s heart is clearly not in education.”
The implications of chronic underfunding are evident in Nigeria’s performance indicators. As of late 2024, an estimated 18.3 million Nigerian children were out of school, making Nigeria the country with the highest out-of-school population globally. This figure accounts for approximately 15% of the world’s total out-of-school children, according to UNICEF. The lack of accessible and quality education is most acute in northern Nigeria, where insecurity, poverty, and cultural factors intersect.
Infrastructural decay also plagues Nigeria’s public schools. From Lagos to Zamfara, thousands of students still learn under trees, in classrooms with leaking roofs, and without basic learning materials like books and chalkboards. Teachers are often unpaid or underpaid, while rural schools continue to suffer acute shortages of qualified educators.
Bridging the funding gap will require bold, multi-pronged interventions. Stakeholders have repeatedly called for education to be declared a national emergency. Policy experts suggest revisiting Nigeria’s revenue distribution formula and committing at least 15% of the annual budget to education, in line with global standards. Improved taxation, public-private partnerships, and better fiscal discipline could also help increase funding.
Another key recommendation is the decentralisation of educational management. Local governments, in partnership with communities, must play a stronger role in monitoring school infrastructure, pupil enrolment, and budget implementation. Currently, a lack of transparency in how funds are disbursed and utilised remains a critical bottleneck.
Accountability mechanisms must also be strengthened. Many education budgets are either underutilised or misappropriated. Without stringent oversight from the legislature, civil society, and anti-graft agencies, increasing budgetary allocations alone may not translate into improved outcomes. There is also a pressing need for timely disbursement to avoid delays in project execution.
Civil society organisations, unions, and student groups have continuously pressed for reforms. In 2023, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) launched a national campaign demanding not only increased funding but also autonomy for universities and the revitalisation of research institutions. However, the government has been slow to act, often citing dwindling revenues and competing priorities.
President Tinubu’s administration, which has pledged to reform the education sector, must demonstrate its seriousness through concrete action. This includes revising the 2025 budget to reflect the real needs of the sector and ensuring that education is not just mentioned in political speeches but elevated through consistent, transparent funding.
As Nigeria looks toward the future, the link between national development and education cannot be overstated. A poorly educated population limits the country’s potential in virtually every domain—economic growth, innovation, healthcare, security, and governance. Without reversing the current trajectory, Nigeria risks raising a generation of children ill-prepared for the demands of the 21st century.
The declining trend in Nigeria’s education budget between 2015 and 2025 stands in stark contrast to the country’s growing youth population and its ambitions of becoming a knowledge-based economy. It is a decade marked not by progress, but by persistent neglect and missed opportunities.
The sobering realities of underfunded schools and marginalized students cast a long shadow. The future of millions of Nigerian students—and indeed the nation itself—hangs in the balance unless urgent steps are taken to bridge the education funding gap.
