GET EDUCATED: UNESCO REF and United States Global Learning Exchange Open Global Higher Education Pathways for Nigerian Youth

ABUJA, Nigeria, 8 November 2022. The Read and Earn Federation for UNESCO (UNESCO REF) and the Global Learning Exchange™ (GLX), a United States-based education company, are advancing a strategic collaboration for education and skills development in Nigeria. Branded GET EDUCATED, the partnership opens internationally accredited academic programmes, professional certifications and digital skills to young Nigerians, regardless of geography or economic circumstance.

First announced in September 2022 under The August Project (TAP), a UNESCO REF initiative then supported by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Sustainable Development Goals, the collaboration now operates within the UNESCO REF Strategic Intervention Programmes for Accelerated Learning and Productive Human Asset (SIP-ALPHA) and the NEPAD_EY framework, implemented through TAP Category 2.9.

The access gap

Le déficit d’accès

Education is the foundation of sustainable development, social mobility and global competitiveness, yet demand for higher education in Nigeria far exceeds the places available where students most want them. More than 2.24 million candidates registered for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. In 2025, Nigerian tertiary institutions filled about 1.01 million places, with university places, at 74 per cent utilisation, the most heavily contested.

Each year, therefore, more than a million qualified and aspiring young Nigerians are left without a place. GET EDUCATED offers them a credible alternative: internationally accredited study, supported locally, without the need to relocate abroad.

GLX Hubs across the six geopolitical zones

Des centres GLX dans les six zones géopolitiques

The cornerstone of the initiative is a network of GLX Hub facilities across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. Each hub provides:

• A modern learning environment. Laptops, high-speed internet and e-libraries.
• Academic guidance and wellbeing. Counselling, career planning and mental health support.
• A path to graduation. A supportive study environment in which participants matriculate and graduate with GLX university partners in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

Local employment. Each hub creates jobs for qualified local professionals, who manage operations and provide academic and administrative support. The model builds institutional capacity, creates local ownership and secures sustainability.

Retention and wellbeing. Recognising that education must be holistic, the hubs deliver wraparound services, including career planning, counselling and mental health support, so that participants are prepared academically, personally and professionally.

Knowledge and technology transfer. Structured training and certification programmes localise expertise, build institutional capacity and position Nigeria as a hub for educational innovation in Africa.

The GET EDUCATED pathway

Le parcours GET EDUCATED

GET EDUCATED expresses the institutional commitment of both partners to connect Nigeria’s intellectual capital with global opportunity. The pathway serves young people aged 18 to 35, including National Youth Service Corps members, graduates and young professionals, and provides access to internationally validated programmes.

The result is a pipeline of globally competitive graduates, equipped to contribute to national development and to international collaboration.

A strategic investment in Nigeria’s future

Un investissement stratégique pour l’avenir du Nigéria

The UNESCO REF and GLX partnership is more than an educational programme. It is a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future and in Africa’s transformation. By combining infrastructure, employment, career and wellbeing support and knowledge transfer, the collaboration creates a complete ecosystem for learning and growth, anchored in global good practice and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

ENDS