The Read and Earn Federation for UNESCO (UNESCO REF) and UNICAF have launched a strategic partnership aimed at expanding Nigerian students’ access to internationally accredited higher education through an 86 per cent tuition scholarship scheme.

The initiative, under the Educational Financial Facility Scheme (EFFS), will provide qualifying Nigerians with scholarships covering 86 per cent of their tuition fees for undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degree programmes, leaving beneficiaries to pay only 14 per cent.

The partners said the scheme is designed to complement the Federal Government’s Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund), in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on human capital development.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of UNICAF, Dr. Nicos Nicolaou, said the partnership aligns with the institution’s commitment to widening access to quality higher education for emerging Nigerian professionals.

He explained that only students admitted through the UNESCO REF EFFS pathway would qualify for the scholarship, stressing that the arrangement offers structured financial support alongside existing national education financing mechanisms.

“Through the Educational Financial Facility Scheme, UNICAF will extend structured scholarship support to qualifying Nigerian students, in respectful complement to the Federal Government’s Nigeria Education Loan Fund and in shared service of the Renewed Hope Agenda,” Nicolaou said.

According to him, the scholarship facility covers internationally accredited degree programmes and is intended to strengthen Nigeria’s human capital development efforts.

President of UNESCO REF, Prince Abdulsalami Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan, described the initiative as a structured instrument designed to make globally recognised higher education more accessible to Nigerians.

He noted that the scheme advances Nigeria’s commitments under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 on equitable access to quality tertiary education and SDG 8 on reducing the number of youths outside education, employment or training.

“Through this facility, in partnership with UNICAF, qualifying candidates secure up to 86 per cent scholarship coverage on their tuition, advancing Nigeria’s commitments under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and standing in measured complement to the Federal Government’s Nigeria Education Loan Fund,” he said.

Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan added that UNESCO REF would continue to engage international partners to expand access to accredited qualifications and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s knowledge economy.

He said the partnership also aligns with the Education 2030 Framework for Action adopted at the World Education Forum in Incheon, which commits signatory nations to expanding inclusive access to tertiary education through equitable financing mechanisms.

The partners disclosed that implementation of the scheme would be assessed using three key performance indicators: the number of Nigerians enrolled through the facility, programme completion and accreditation outcomes, and beneficiaries’ employability after graduation.

UNESCO REF said progress reports would be provided through the EFFS governance framework, while partner institutions would be held accountable for programme delivery.

One of the beneficiaries, Grace Adetola, a registered nurse at Maitama District Hospital, Abuja, said the scholarship had enabled her to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Health Management after years of financial constraints.

“For many years, I had aspired to advance my professional formation through an internationally accredited qualification in Public Health Management, but the financial pathway remained beyond my reach. The Educational Financial Facility Scheme has removed that structural barrier,” she said.

Adetola encouraged Nigerian professionals seeking to advance their qualifications to take advantage of the opportunity.