Nigeria and Italy have strengthened collaboration to implement the proposed Global Partnership for Education (GPE) financing campaign, aimed at mobilising five billion dollars for education worldwide.
In a video message, President Bola Tinubu said the GPE vision aligned with Nigeria’s agenda to improve educational outcomes through greater investment in access and teacher capacity building.
Tinubu made the remarks on Wednesday in New York during the Multiply Possibility High-level event, tagged “A New Era for Education Financing.” The event was held on the margins of the ongoing 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who also spoke at the event, described education as an investment in Nigeria’s economic future, productivity, and the prosperity and stability of its citizens — not merely an expense at the margins of the country’s development agenda.
“For Nigeria, education is not an expenditure at the margins of our development agenda. It is an investment in our economic future, national productivity, and the prosperity and stability of our people.
“Since Tinubu assumed office in 2023, our administration has substantially increased resources devoted to education, while pursuing reforms to strengthen basic education financing, expand foundational learning, and improve access to tertiary and technical education,” he said.
Shettima noted that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund had widened access to higher education and strengthened the link between education, skills, employment and enterprise. He added that Nigeria was looking beyond traditional budgetary allocations.
Tinubu, he said, had directed that liquid funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission — once legally cleared and free from litigation — be channelled to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund. The Federal Executive Council recently approved consideration of unclaimed dividends and dormant funds for the same purpose, subject to relevant legal requirements.
This, Shettima explained, demonstrated Nigeria’s conviction that financing education requires mobilising every responsible and lawful domestic source available.
Citing Nigeria’s alliances with the World Bank and GPE through HOPE-EDU, the vice president highlighted what international partnership could achieve. The programme is expected to reach approximately 29 million children and 500,000 teachers across Nigeria.
“This is precisely why GPE matters. GPE does not replace national investment; it multiplies it. The ambition before us is to mobilise five billion dollars for GPE and, through that investment, unlock additional financing for education in partner countries. Domestic resources must remain the anchor, complemented by development assistance, concessional finance, philanthropy and innovative financing.”
He urged participants to ensure the high-level event was not merely a fundraising exercise but a renewed compact for human capital.
Earlier, in a video presentation, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised President Tinubu’s leadership and Nigeria’s determination to improve educational outcomes at all levels. She urged all partners in the global alliance to show greater commitment to reversing negative trends in developing countries.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Dr Amina Mohammed thanked partners for their interest in improving education financing in developing countries. She noted that the changes sought by stakeholders must begin with the choices governments make, and called on international financial institutions to support committed countries in creating the fiscal space needed to improve educational outcomes, including teacher capacity building.
In the same vein, Chair of the GPE Board of Directors, Dr Jakaya Kikwete, underscored the need to accelerate education financing. He described the event as a reminder that education remains central to the attainment of human rights, security and peace. GPE, he said, was driven by the realities of declining development assistance for education amid a widening financing gap.
Girls’ education activist Malala Yousafzai emphasised the need for collaboration in both ideas and resources. She stated that global partnerships tend to produce greater results and more impactful outcomes than isolated interventions by individual countries. Yousafzai urged all stakeholders — especially multilateral organisations and governments — to commit more resources and effort to gender equality in education.
Governments and donors at the high-level event made generous contributions toward the education of at least 370 million children globally. Italy pledged 50 million euros for GPE programmes and interventions.
