Fact Checking Tinubu’s Claims About Education Sector In 2025 Independence Day Speech
Umoh Umoh
On October 1, 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave an Independence Day speech to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day celebration. In the president’s speech, he made claims about ‘the number of secondary schools and tertiary institutions’ prior to the country’s independence in 1960 till date.
Tinubu’s speech on the education sector reads, “Nigerians today have access to better education and healthcare than in 1960. At Independence, Nigeria had 120 secondary schools with a student population of about 130,000. Available data indicate that, as of 2024, there were more than 23,000 secondary schools in our country. At Independence, we had only the University of Ibadan and Yaba College of Technology as the two tertiary institutions in Nigeria. By the end of last year, there were 274 universities, 183 Polytechnics, and 236 Colleges of Education in Nigeria, comprising Federal, State, and private institutions.”
NV-A went ahead to verify the number and figures presented by Tinubu.
VERIFICATIONS
CLAIM 1: Nigeria Had 120 Secondary Schools With A Student Population Of About 130,000 At Independence
VERIFICATION
According to a UNESCO-sponsored report on the Federal Ministry of Education, there were 135,434 students enrolled in secondary schools in 1960.
Source: Taiwo, C. (1980). The Nigerian education system: Past, present and future. Ibadan:
Nelson.
Meanwhile, further checks revealed that in 1960 there were 311 grammar schools in Nigeria as seen in the National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN course material for History of Education in Nigeria, EDU 714.
| Region | No. of Secondary Grammar Schools in 1960 |
| Western Region | 101 |
| Eastern Region | 159 |
| Northern Region | 51 |
| Total | 311 |
Source: NOUN, EDU 714, page 102
VERDICT
The claim that there were 120 secondary schools with a population of about 130,000 students, when Nigeria had its independence in 1960 is MISLEADING. Data from academic journals and reports reveal that there were about 311 secondary schools with a population of 135,434 students during the said period.
CLAIM 2: At Independence, Nigeria Had Two Tertiary Institutions, The University Of Ibadan And Yaba College Of Technology
VERIFICATION
“Tertiary institutions” generally refers to post-secondary institutions: universities, colleges offering diplomas / certificates beyond secondary school, teacher training colleges, polytechnics, etc.
University College Ibadan was established in 1948 as an affiliate of the University of London; it later became the University of Ibadan. It was a full degree-awarding university by the early 1960s.
Yaba Higher College / Yaba Technical Institute was founded before independence in 1948. It provided technical and vocational education and was a key post-secondary institution.
Several additional institutions (or colleges) that functioned as tertiary, post-secondary, advanced technical, arts and science college levels were in place by or around independence such as:
- The Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology (NCAST), with branches in Zaria, Enugu and Ibadan. It was operating before or near 1960, offering post-secondary training/diploma / preparatory courses.
- Teacher training colleges like, St Andrew’s Teachers’ College, Oyo, established in 1896
VERDICT
The claim that at Independence only the University of Ibadan and Yaba College of Technology were the two tertiary institutions in Nigeria is FALSE. There were other post-secondary (tertiary) awarding institutions that were functional before 1960.
CLAIM 3: There Were 274 Universities, 183 Polytechnics, And 236 Colleges Of Education In Nigeria At The End Of 2024
VERIFICATION
NUC bulletin published on February 26, 2024 said Nigeria had 272 universities in total (federal, state, and private) by that date. This was after the approval of new private universities. More recent media reports cite that Nigeria now has 283 universities, comprising 63 federal, 63 state and 149 private as new ones are being licensed, though that may include institutions licensed after 2024.
Meanwhile, The National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, website lists “approved institutions” in categories, federal, state, private polytechnics, monotechnics etc. On the other hand, the Federal Ministry of Education’s “Polytechnic Education & Allied Institutions” page shows a breakdown: 36 federal, 51 state, 69 private polytechnics, totalling 156 polytechnics. Thus, the claim of 183 polytechnics is significantly above the 156 figure from the Federal Ministry, which is a formal government source.
According to a November 2023 report by The Punch, “the National Commission for Colleges of Education put the number of colleges of education in Nigeria at 219”.
VERDICT
The claim that there were 274 universities, 183 Polytechnics, and 236 Colleges of Education in Nigeria, comprising Federal, State, and private institutions, at the end of 2024 is FALSE. Findings reveal that there were 283 Universities according to a recent report (though that may include institutions licensed after 2024), 156 Polytechnics and 219 Colleges of Education during the stated period.
CONCLUSION
Out of the three claims made by President Tinubu about schools in Nigeria, the first is MISLEADING while the second and third are FALSE.
