Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, has shared updates from his official engagements in Singapore, highlighting new plans to strengthen technical and vocational education. Speaking about the visit, he said the meetings focused on building stronger ties and expanding cooperation in key areas of education and skills development.
Dr Alausa met with Singapore’s Minister of Education, Mr. Desmond Lee, where both leaders discussed the progress already made in Technical and Vocational Education and Training. He stated that the talks “reaffirmed the strong ties between our countries and our shared commitment to strengthening TVET.” According to him, both countries also agreed to work on a broader partnership that will cover more sectors beyond technical training.
He explained that part of his visit included a tour of the Institute of Technical Education and sessions with ITE Education Services to review their existing Memorandum of Understanding with Nigeria’s National Board for Technical Education. He noted that the proposed areas of collaboration include quality assurance support, strengthening GEMSET, a new three-year AI Applications Programme, leadership development, and more train-the-trainer opportunities.
Dr Alausa also gave an update on Nigeria’s Free Education Initiative across Federal Technical Colleges and selected state colleges, saying the government is “fully covering tuition and essential amenities to expand access to quality, skills-based education.”
He revealed that 1.3 million applications were received for the TVET initiative Programme, showing strong interest among young Nigerians. He added that the next phase will focus on connecting applicants to jobs and helping those ready to start small businesses.
He described the Singapore engagements as productive and said they will support better programmes and improved infrastructure across Nigeria’s TVET system, stressing the commitment to building a modern, globally competitive education and skills ecosystem for the 21st century.
