KEY POINTS

• Nigeria has presented its interest-free student loan scheme, NELFUND, as an effort to reduce financial barriers to higher education.
• The Federal Government wants debt arrangements to protect spending on schools, teachers and other essential education services.
• A UN debate highlighted that 113 countries, with about 6.1 billion people, spend more on debt servicing than education.
• Nigeria says student financing initiatives must be supported by sustainable national and international funding arrangements.

MAIN STORY

Nigeria has urged governments and international financial institutions to protect education budgets when negotiating debt agreements, warning that rising debt repayments and borrowing costs could weaken investment in schools and limit access to quality education.

The Federal Government made the call during a United Nations General Assembly Third Committee dialogue in New York with Farida Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education.

Nigeria also used the engagement to showcase the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), describing the interest-free student loan scheme as part of its efforts to remove financial barriers to tertiary education.

Delivering Nigeria’s national statement, Ambassador Bola Asaju said the scheme provides interest-free loans to eligible students to cover institutional charges and upkeep.

The delegation said expanding access to education was essential to reducing poverty, promoting social mobility and creating economic opportunities, particularly for young people.

However, Nigeria argued that such domestic initiatives would be difficult to sustain if governments continued to face mounting debt-service obligations, high borrowing costs and inadequate international assistance.

THE ISSUES

Nigeria warned that pressure from debt repayments could reduce the funds available for schools, teachers, educational materials and learning facilities, particularly in underserved communities.

It called on governments and international lenders to protect education spending when negotiating debt arrangements and implementing economic adjustment programmes.

The delegation also asked Shaheed how governments and international financial institutions could safeguard funding for schools, teachers and other essential educational services during periods of debt distress.

The intervention followed Shaheed’s presentation on how the international financial system affects countries’ ability to meet their obligations to provide education.

Citing UNESCO data, the discussion highlighted that 113 countries, home to approximately 6.1 billion people, spend more on servicing debt than on education.

Shaheed warned that public debt, austerity measures and declining development assistance were constraining government investment in public education.

She called for reforms to international debt governance, including safeguards for education spending during debt restructuring and fiscal adjustment.

She also urged the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to give greater consideration to countries’ human rights obligations when assessing debt sustainability.

WHAT’S BEING SAID

Shaheed advocated stronger international tax cooperation and increased public financing to help governments provide accessible, equitable and quality education.

Nigeria, meanwhile, maintained that financial difficulties should not prevent children and young people from accessing quality education because of their socioeconomic circumstances.

WHAT’S NEXT

Nigeria called for practical mechanisms through which international financial institutions could protect education budgets during periods of financial difficulty.

The delegation also reaffirmed that student financing programmes such as NELFUND needed to be supported by sustainable public spending and international economic arrangements that prioritise human development.

Earlier in the dialogue, Italy acknowledged Nigeria’s role in co-hosting the Global Partnership for Education’s 2026–2030 replenishment campaign.

Italy’s representative said the campaign had mobilised an additional $3.5 billion internationally, alongside domestic education-financing commitments by partner countries.

BOTTOM LINE

Nigeria’s intervention links the expansion of student loans at home with a wider challenge facing developing countries: how to fund education when debt repayments compete with public spending. The government wants international debt arrangements to recognise education as an essential investment rather than an expenditure that can be easily cut.