FG Expands Nursing Admissions to 50,000 Amid Health Worker Shortage

The Federal Government has increased annual admissions into nursing schools from about 20,000 to 50,000 students as part of efforts to tackle Nigeria’s acute shortage of healthcare professionals.  

Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Sunday, describing the expansion as a key component of broader education reforms aimed at building a skilled workforce to support President Bola Tinubu’s $1 trillion economy vision by 2030.

“We want to be the manpower supplier of the world. We need to produce competent, skilled and educated young Nigerians who will drive our economy, contribute to Africa’s growth and compete successfully across the world,” Alausa said.

 The minister noted that admissions into other critical health programmes such as medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry have also been significantly increased.

He expressed confidence that the reforms would help reduce the nation’s healthcare workforce gap in the coming years.

Nigeria has long grappled with a shortage of nurses and other health workers, worsened by the “Japa” phenomenon, the mass migration of professionals abroad in search of better opportunities.

The government says the expanded training capacity will help meet domestic needs while positioning Nigeria as a global supplier of skilled health personnel.

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