The governments of India and Nigeria have announced plans to open a branch of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) in Nigeria, scheduled to begin operations in 2026, marking the first IIT campus in West Africa.
The announcement came during a meeting in Abuja between Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, and India’s High Commissioner, Abhishek Singh, where both sides pledged to strengthen cooperation in science, technology, and innovation education.
The campus will be located at the Federal Government Academy, Suleja (also known as the Nigerian Academy for the Gifted) and will be upgraded into a centre of academic excellence with technical and faculty support from India.
Under the agreement, India will provide faculty, curriculum design, and training, while Nigeria will handle infrastructure, logistics, and administration.
A joint Indo-Nigerian technical committee will oversee planning, student recruitment, and course implementation.
The first cohort of undergraduate and postgraduate students in engineering, technology, and research disciplines is expected to begin classes in 2026.
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The project is part of India’s National Education Policy 2020, which seeks to expand its academic footprint internationally and foster strategic collaborations with countries such as Nigeria.
For Nigeria, the campus aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s human capital development agenda, aimed at positioning the country as a regional hub for technical education and innovation.
Minister Alausa described the project as “a landmark step in strengthening the country’s educational and technological capacity,” and education stakeholders have welcomed it as a key initiative for improving STEM education and research collaboration between the two countries.