Jane Salihu
The Federal Government is targeting an annual admission of about 20,000 medical students within the next three years as part of efforts to rapidly expand Nigeria’s healthcare workforce and strengthen practical training across the country.
The Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Education, Ikharo Attah, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday, August 30, 2026, following the Minister’s receipt of the report of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Medical Simulation Committee.
According to the statement, the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, CON, said the government was also planning to establish world-class medical simulation centres across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones to provide students with more opportunities for hands-on training.
The proposed centres are expected to support practical learning for students of medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy and other allied health professions.
Alausa said the expansion had become necessary as enrolment into healthcare-related programmes continued to rise significantly under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration.
He disclosed that annual admission into medical schools had increased from about 5,000 students when Tinubu assumed office to nearly 12,000 students, with the government targeting approximately 20,000 annual admissions within the next three years.
The Minister also revealed that nursing enrolment had increased from about 38,000 students three years ago to more than 120,000 students across nursing schools in Nigeria.
He added that admissions into pharmacy and dental programmes had also doubled, further increasing the number of healthcare professionals undergoing training in the country.
Alausa said the proposed simulation centres would help bridge the gap between classroom instruction and clinical practice by providing students with access to high-quality practical training before and alongside their exposure to real clinical environments.
He commended the Chairman of the TETFund Medical Simulation Committee, Dr. Wale Suleiman, and other members for producing the report and advancing the initiative.
The Minister also acknowledged the contributions of professional and academic stakeholders involved in the committee, including representatives of the Medical and Dental Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council, Pharmacy Council of Nigeria and the University of Abuja Medical School.
According to Alausa, the initiative is consistent with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly the administration’s drive to expand Nigeria’s healthcare workforce while improving the quality of professional education.
He said the government remained committed to ensuring that the rapid increase in admission into health-related programmes was matched with adequate facilities and quality training.
The Minister said the development of the simulation centres represented another step towards equipping a new generation of Nigerian healthcare professionals with the skills required to meet the country’s growing health needs.
The proposed TETFund centres are expected to be established across the six geopolitical zones as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to expand access to professional healthcare education and improve the quality of training available to students nationwide.
