Za ku mayar da ilimi kyauta har zuwa matakin sakandare, kuma ta yaya za a samar da kuɗin gudanar da shi?

Today, I had the honor of hosting the @MalalaFund team in Nigeria, led by Ms. Fatima Askira, @Fatiskira, to engage in discussions about possible collaboration opportunities between the American University of Nigeria, @AUNigeria, and the Malala Fund. Our shared goal is to enhance access to education for girls and ensure inclusive education for all. It deeply saddens me that education has faced significant challenges in Nigeria. To address this, I established the Atiku Abubakar Foundation, which primarily offers scholarships to young girls. Additionally, the Atiku Institute was founded to combat poverty among adult women. I also highlighted that through the Standard MicroFinance Bank, which I set up, we've empowered and uplifted over 60,000 women from poverty. I'm committed to joining hands with the Malala Fund to champion advocacy to make education gender transformative in Africa. -AA

Tinubu’s policy on age limit for tertiary education admission belongs in the Stone Ages. The recent policy of the Federal Ministry of Education pegging age limits for entry to tertiary institutions is an absurdity and a disincentive to scholarship. The policy runs foul of the notion of delineation of responsibilities in a federal system of government such as we are pratising, and gives a graphic impression of how the Tinubu government behaves like a lost sailor on a high sea. Otherwise, how is such anti-scholarship regulation the next logical step in the myriad of issues besetting our educational system? To be clear, the Nigerian constitution puts education in the concurrent list of schedules, in which the sub-national government enjoys more roles above the federal government. Therefore, it is extra-constitutional for the federal government to legislate on education in a manner similar to a decree.

SPECIFIC MEASURES We would have undertaken extensive reforms of the public sector institutions to maximize reform impact. We would have placed special focus on security viz: •Commenced on day one, the reform of security institutions with improved funding, and enhanced welfare. My Policy Document had spelt out a Special Presidential Welfare Initiative for security personnel that we would implement •Adopted alternative approaches to conflict resolution such as diplomacy, intelligence, improved border control, deploying traditional institutions, and good neighbourliness. We would have launched an Economic Stimulus Fund (ESF), with an initial investment capacity of approximately US$10 billion to support MSMEs across all economic sectors. How would this have been funded? Details are in my Policy Document. Alongside the ESF, we would have launched a uniquely designed skills-to-job programme that targets all categories of youth, including graduates, early school leavers as well as the massive numbers of uneducated youth who are currently not in education, employment, or training.

An ADC government under my leadership will take decisive action to address insecurity and protect lives and property in the country. We shall strengthen the armed forces, the police and other security agencies with massive new recruitment, provision of modern and adequate equipment, training, improved welfare and effective leadership. We shall also ensure accountability and proper coordination and intelligence sharing among all our security agencies. It is obvious to us in the ADC that we can only secure our country long-term if we educate our young people and create an economy in which they and their families can thrive and help to change Nigeria and the world for the better. Education Under the watch of this APC government over 20 million of our school-age children are not in school. This cannot be tolerated in the modern world where education is the surest path to descent employment, wealth creation, national development and enlightened citizenry. We will, therefore, implement free and compulsory education at the primary and secondary levels and invest in leadership, entrepreneurial, technological and innovation skills amongst our teeming youth.

● Support the expansion of production capacity and global distribution of Nigerian content 2. Unlock private sector financing for the creative industry. We will reduce investment risk and attract capital into entertainment through structured financial support systems. ● Establish a guarantee scheme to de-risk investments in film, music, and other creative sectors ● Partner with financial institutions to provide accessible funding for creative entrepreneurs ● Support export platforms to position Nigerian content in global markets 1.7.2. Sports 1. Revive and invest in school sports as a foundation for national talent development. We will rebuild grassroots sports systems to identify and develop talent from an early stage. ● Reintroduce structured school sports competitions at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels ● Partner with states and private institutions to support sports development programmes ● Integrate sports into education as a pathway for talent discovery and development

● Within the first 100 days, declare a national emergency on out-of-school children and convene a National Education Summit to develop and implement a clear action plan ● Partner with states and local governments to identify and return out-of-school children to classrooms through targeted outreach ● Declare a state of emergency in technical and vocational education, expanding skills training centres and aligning them with industry needs ● Provide student loans and financing support to enable young Nigerians to access technical and vocational education. ● Integrate vocational training into secondary education to create multiple pathways for learning and employment 2. Reform UBEC for accountability and results We will restructure the Universal Basic Education system to ensure funds are efficiently used, transparently managed, and tied to measurable outcomes. Details: ● Reform the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to focus on students, not fund administration. ● Simplify access to UBEC funds for states while enforcing strict accountability and reporting standards ● Digitize UBEC processes to track fund disbursement, school performance, and project implementation in real time