Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, on Tuesday, May 12,2026, said the number of Nigerian students seeking admission into foreign universities has declined significantly, attributing the trend to improved stability and renewed confidence in the country’s tertiary education system.
Alausa made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television, while responding to reports that Nigeria ranked third globally in outbound student mobility in 2023, behind China and India.
He dismissed the figures as outdated, saying they reflected a period of prolonged academic disruption, unstable university calendars and underinvestment in the sector.
The minister said reforms under the current administration have restored academic continuity across tertiary institutions and improved learning conditions.
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According to him, the Federal Ministry of Education, through its educational support services department, has tracked student migration patterns and recorded a sharp drop in the number of Nigerians leaving the country for studies.
“We’ve seen a precipitous drop in the number of students going out. Our tertiary institutions are better now. We have academic continuity, academic session continuity,” he said.
Alausa also cited rising demand for the Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB) programme as evidence of growing preference for local academic pathways, noting that the programme is now oversubscribed.
He added that increased competition for admission into top institutions, including the University of Lagos, further reflects renewed confidence in Nigerian universities.
The minister said a comparison of 2024 and 2025 data with 2023 figures would show a clear decline in outbound student migration.