Nigeria expands nursing admissions to 50,000 amid health worker shortage

Nigeria has significantly expanded nursing admissions, increasing annual intake from around 20,000 to 50,000 students. This move, announced by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, aims to tackle the country's critical shortage of healthcare professionals and bolster the health workforce.

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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.

The expansion of nursing education is a key component of wider education reforms designed to cultivate the skilled workforce necessary for President Bola Tinubu's ambitious goal of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Minister Alausa emphasized the government's strategic investment in human capital development, particularly in vital sectors.

"We want to be the manpower supplier of the world," Alausa stated, highlighting the objective to produce competent, skilled, and educated young Nigerians who can drive the national economy, contribute to Africa's growth, and compete globally. Beyond nursing, admissions into medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry programs have also seen substantial increases.

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As the President advances his vision of building a one trillion-dollar economy, education will remain at the centre of that transformation.

The government anticipates that these reforms will significantly alleviate the shortage of healthcare professionals within the next few years as a new cohort of graduates enters the workforce. Alausa reiterated that education remains central to the administration's economic transformation agenda and highlighted the sustainability of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

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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.