The Federal Government has said the deployment of off-grid solar power in educational institutions is improving learning and working conditions across Nigeria.
The Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, disclosed this during an interview on the Afropolitan Podcast, explaining that the solar solutions were being deployed under the Energising Education Programme implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency.
Alausa said frequent power outages and high electricity costs had negatively affected teaching, research and living conditions in universities.
According to him, the government is working to take universities off the national grid by providing dedicated solar mini-grids to campuses.
He explained that reliable electricity would enable students to study at night, allow laboratories to operate without interruptions and improve services at university hospitals without excessive reliance on diesel generators.
“We are taking our campuses off the national grid with dedicated solar power. You cannot build a modern university system where students cannot read at night, laboratories lose power in the middle of experiments, and hospitals attached to our universities are forced to run on noisy, expensive diesel generators,” he said.
The minister also noted that high electricity bills had placed significant financial pressure on universities, with funds that could otherwise have been used for academic development being diverted to energy costs.
He said the government was addressing the challenge by providing clean and reliable energy capable of operating continuously.
Alausa added that sustainable power for tertiary institutions formed part of the Federal Government’s broader plan to strengthen human capital development and improve the global competitiveness of Nigerian universities.
He further disclosed that the government had established the Renewable Energy Asset Management Company to maintain the solar mini-grids and ensure they remain functional.
“As Minister, I don’t just want to leave projects that will deteriorate after two years; we are aiming for sustainability that will last beyond my tenure,” he said.
