Education
Russia Educating, Training Future African Leaders
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
Amidst the geopolitical dynamics and diverse manoeuvres to ensure stability at home, Russia has to show certainty, firmness and consistency in its relations with Africa. Understandably Africa has been at the bottom of its priority agenda, most official statements on pledges take years to achieve concrete results. There are also explicit indications that Russia is broadening and not deepening its influence in various areas. In terms of education and training, scholarships for potential African students are arguably low compared to Asia and Latin America.
After the inauguration held on May 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin has set a goal to increase the number of foreign students in universities and educational institutions to at least 500,000 by 2030 in the Russian Federation.
“The number of foreign students pursuing higher education in Russian higher learning institutions and scientific organizations should rise to at least 500,000 by 2030,” according to his decree that sets national development objectives, making Russia appear among the world’s five largest developed nations.
As the current president entered his fifth term, Putin signed the new decrees. The primary goal is also to resolve issues related to the special military operation, in addition to further improving the country’s socioeconomic situation for the population. The decree published on the Kremlin website is titled On the National Development Goals of the Russian Federation until 2030 and for a Longer Term until 2036.
According to the Russian Education and Science Ministry, more than 355,000 foreigners are currently studying in Russian universities. Acting Minister Valery Falkov earlier said Russia has the world’s sixth-largest number of foreign students.
According to calculations by TASS News Agency, the number of foreign students in Russian universities has increased by more than 20% over the past five years. Most often foreign applicants accepted by Russian universities come from China, Vietnam, former Soviet republics, and countries in Asia and the Middle East.
The above-mentioned TASS report has seriously overlooked Africa. This precedence of positioning Africa at the bottom of the policy agenda could be found in many official reports. Sometimes, ignored completely. Noticeably, Africa has been and still is at the bottom of Russia’s policy agenda, and has reflected in its economic projects undertaken and completed across Africa. Political dialogues are excellent and official visits forth and back increasingly proliferated. Conferences and meetings abound, and reports are frequently issued.
The number of African students who receive education in Russia is approaching 35,000 people, according to RIA Novosti. More than half of the 35,000 are private students, paying hard-earned money for tuition. According to Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education, Konstantin Mogilevsky, speaking at the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg in July 2023, informed that since the last academic year the Russian scholarship has increased to about 4,000 people.
Russia has to invest in training young African leaders, considered as the bridge between Russia and Africa. But of course, Russia is not a charitable organization, institution or state as it strongly advocates for a multipolar world. “The present and the future of Russia-Africa relations is not about charity, it’s about co-development,” stated Evgeny Primakov, Head of the Russian Federal Agency for International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) and also a member of the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the International Parliamentary Conference Russia – Africa in a Multipolar World, held in Moscow under the auspices of the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly. Concerning education and training, Putin indicated that cooperation between Russia and African countries in education is at a traditionally high level. At the same time, the annual quota for state-funded scholarships at Russian universities would be more than doubled, he said.
Russia can target African students to boost its image and public perceptions in Africa, especially in this emerging new world. The significance here is to inculcate diversified cultural tolerance, and take advantage of multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism – aspects of modern life – which are necessary prerequisites for the emerging multi-polar world. Nevertheless, Russia largely lags far behind with a well-structured public outreach diplomacy, using education and training young Africans in the developing world.
In various ways, Russian educational institutions could open their doors to the growing number of African elites, estimated at 380 million, almost the same size as the United States and double the population size of Russia. As part of the renewed interest in Africa, Russia can work on opportunities and diverse ways to increase the number of students, especially tuition paying agreements, most possibly on subsidized forms, for children of the growing elite families and middle-class from African countries in Russian universities.
The system of higher education has always been and remains a powerful intellectual resource, generating new ideas and – this is what it was designed for, of course – to offer systematic training of labour for all areas of life in society. This serves as an investment into the achievement of the main target – training professionals who are in demand in the labour market.
With the youth’s education, experts are very critical. Gordey Yastrebov, a Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer at the Institute for Sociology and Social Psychology at the University of Cologne (Germany), argues in an email discussion with this article’s author that “education can be a tool for geopolitical influence in general, and for changing perceptions specifically, and Russia (just like any other country) could use it for that same purpose. However, Russia isn’t doing anything substantial on this front, at least there are only crawling efforts with obvious little outcomes. There are no large-scale investment programmes in education focusing on this.”
A series of credible reports from University World News explicitly show that Asian countries have become the second most popular destination for African students studying abroad with China being number one followed by the likes of India, Japan, and South Korea, among others. For instance, India has also taken steps to build a more practical partnership in several spheres of the continent. New Delhi has a new set of opportunities in human resources development, information technology and education.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has granted another extension for its Student Loan Application Portal to accommodate institutions that requested additional time for the 2025/2026 academic session.
According to the statement signed by NELFUND’s Director of Strategic Communications, Ms Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, on Thursday, the extension applies only to institutions that submitted formal requests, allowing eligible students extra time to complete their applications.
“The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has approved an extension of its Student Loan Application Portal for institutions that have formally requested additional time for the 2025/2026 academic session,” the statement read.
Business Post reports that at the beginning of March, NELFUND announced an extension to the deadline by a week for its student loan application portal following a notable rise in nationwide interest driven by ongoing awareness campaigns.
Speaking on the development, NELFUND Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, reiterated the Fund’s commitment to ensuring that eligible students at participating institutions can access the student loan programme.
“NELFUND remains committed to ensuring that eligible students across participating institutions have the opportunity to access the student loan programme,” he said.
The Fund urges students in affected institutions to take advantage of the extension and submit their applications through the official portal.
It also emphasised its dedication to transparency, accountability, and providing sustainable financing solutions to remove financial barriers to higher education in Nigeria.
Established to administer the Nigeria Student Loan Scheme, NELFUND was enacted into law by President Bola Tinubu in April 2024.
The initiative provides interest-free loans to students in public tertiary institutions to cover tuition and living expenses.
Beneficiaries are required to repay the loans after completing their education and securing employment, aiming to increase access to higher education for students from low-income backgrounds.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has inaugurated a Curriculum Review Committee aimed at strengthening taxation education in Nigerian academic institutions and improving the country’s tax administration system.
According to a statement, the committee was inaugurated on February 24, at the NRS Academy in Durumi as part of the agency’s broader efforts to modernise tax education and align academic training with the evolving demands of contemporary tax administration.
Speaking during the inauguration, the Director of the NRS Academy, Mr Adeolu Akinyemi, said the review exercise would involve collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) to develop a more structured and relevant curriculum for the academy.
He emphasised that the initiative seeks to ensure that taxation programmes taught in Nigerian institutions reflect current developments in tax policy and practice, while also equipping students with the practical knowledge required in today’s tax administration environment.
The committee has been tasked with examining existing taxation curricula across Nigerian institutions and proposing updates that incorporate modern tax policies, recent legislative changes, and emerging areas such as digital taxation and global tax practices.
Officials say the review is also designed to close the gap between theoretical classroom instruction and the practical realities of tax administration.
By strengthening the link between academic learning and professional practice, the revised curriculum is expected to better prepare graduates for careers in the tax sector.
The effort is further expected to enhance tax awareness among citizens, encourage voluntary tax compliance, and support the development of skilled tax professionals who can contribute to national revenue generation and economic growth.
The committee is chaired by Mrs Aisha Hamman Mahmoud, Special Adviser to the Executive Chairman of the NRS on Research and Statistics. Its membership includes representatives from the service as well as academic experts in taxation and fiscal policy, alongside professionals with experience in tax administration, policy formulation, and tax education.
The committee will work with relevant educational regulatory agencies and professional bodies to ensure that the proposed curriculum aligns with national academic standards while addressing the practical needs of Nigeria’s tax system.
The NRS stated that the initiative forms part of its ongoing commitment to expanding tax knowledge, strengthening professional capacity, and promoting responsible tax practices across the country.
The curriculum review exercise is expected to be completed within 60 days, after which the Service plans to provide further updates on the implementation of the revised programme.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The first batch of Nigerian undergraduates to enjoy fully paid scholarships for studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses across the continent has been chosen by Airtel Africa Foundation.
Business Post gathered that 70 students from universities across Nigeria were selected from thousands of applicants through an independently managed process, which took nearly six months.
It was learned that most of the undergraduates were from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife, the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), the University of Ilorin, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU Zaria), and the University of Nigeria (UNN).
The scholarship covers tuition, laptop computers, living expenses, and essential learning resources, a statement from Airtel Africa Foundation disclosed.
The chairman of the foundation, Mr Segun Ogunsanya, speaking at the presentation of the scholarships to the beneficiaries at the Lagos headquarters of Airtel Nigeria, emphasised the need for initiatives such as the Airtel Africa Foundation’s undergraduate tech scholarship for the future of the continent.
“True legacy is not measured by the awards we win or the volume of SIM cards we sell; it is measured by the lives we save, the people we feed, and the students we support when the line between success and failure is at its thinnest.
“At the Airtel Africa Foundation, we believe that lifting people out of poverty is the ultimate benchmark of a great company. Today, we are writing that legacy by tilting the balance in favour of the brilliant but underserved, ensuring that the fourth industrial revolution, driven by AI and Data Science, is built by African talent for the African continent,” he stated.
Mr Ogunsanya further revealed that this fellowship, executed through Airtel Nigeria, is designed to bridge the gap where funding, skills, and opportunity often fail to meet.
In addition to the N500,000 yearly budget for the fellows’ four-year or five-year courses, each fellow would be integrated into a structured support system for academic guidance and career mentorship, intended to ultimately transition students from the classroom to the global tech workforce.
Addressing the students, the chief executive of Airtel Nigeria, Mr Dinesh Balsingh, stressed that youth development is a strategic imperative for Airtel.
“At Airtel Nigeria, we view youth development as essential nation-building. When young people succeed, innovation accelerates, and social stability improves.
“By connecting these brilliant scholars to knowledge, skills, and confidence, we are fulfilling our core mission to connect people to opportunity. To our recipients: you earned your place here through merit and discipline. You are now ambassadors of excellence, and we expect your leadership to be defined by your conduct as you help shape a more inclusive digital future for Nigeria,” the Airtel Nigeria chief said.
The Nigerian cohort joins a prestigious network of Airtel Africa Foundation fellows currently studying in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, and India.
The initiative underscores a broader commitment to technology education, youth development, and Nigeria’s digital economy.
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