Nigeria launches $552 million education drive backed by World Bank

Nigeria has launched a $552 million basic education programme co-financed by ​the World Bank and the Global Partnership ‌for Education, President Bola Tinubu said on Thursday, to improve learning outcomes, widen access to schooling ​and strengthen the education system.

The HOPE-EDU programme ​will directly benefit about 29 million children, ⁠more than 500,000 teachers, 65,000 public ​schools and 10,000 non-formal learning centres nationwide, Tinubu ​said at the launch in Abuja.

The programme is one of five initiatives in place to speed up ​poverty reduction, human capital development, community growth, ​and strengthen healthcare.

"These programmes are not separate efforts; they are ‌one ⁠coordinated national strategy for poverty reduction, human capital development and community resilience," Tinubu said.

Tinubu, who is seeking re-election in January, has ​pursued Nigeria's biggest ​economic reforms ⁠in decades since taking office in 2023, scrapping costly fuel and ​electricity subsidies, devaluing the naira and ​overhauling ⁠the tax system to bolster public finances.

He said the initiatives would translate recent economic reforms ⁠into ​tangible gains in livelihoods, ​education, healthcare and social protection.

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters