By Musa Ibrahim
Nigeria’s ambitious plan to rebuild its education system received a fresh push recently as Dr. Tunji Alausa, Honourable Minister of Education, told participants at the Nigeria Education Forum (NEF) 2025 that the country’s transformation is “already underway” and anchored on a compact jointly designed by the federal government, states, and critical education institutions.
Speaking at the event, the Honourable Minister described the maiden NEF 2025 as “a national platform for collective ownership of the future of education” and thanked the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) for convening what he called a decisive space for Federal and subnational leaders, policy makers, global partners, the private sector, academia, and innovators.
“Education is the bedrock of national development,” he said, adding that the quality of schools, teacher capacity, and the relevance of curriculum “will determine the future of our nation.” While acknowledging progress in policy and implementation, he cited persistent gaps in access, equity, infrastructure, quality assurance, and teacher development.
NESRI: A Reform Agenda Built With States
Dr. Alausa offered a detailed look at the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), the administration’s flagship framework under the Renewed Hope policy direction of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Nigeria’s education transformation is already underway, and it is being built through full and extensive collaboration with our subnational governments and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and our esteemed partners,” he said.
He stressed repeatedly that NESRI “is not a federal project imposed from Abuja” but “a unified national blueprint jointly shaped” with the NGF, all 36 states and the FCT, education boards, councils, development partners, civil society, and private actors. The initiative spans basic, technical, tertiary, and digital education and rests on a core commitment: “No learner must be left behind.”
Data, Access And Safety: A System-wide Overhaul
One of the clearest indicators of progress, he said, is the scale of collaboration on the Nigeria Education Data Initiative (NEDI), described as “the most ambitious Education Management Information System (EMIS) reform in Nigerian history.”
According to him, 21 states have uploaded their school data to the national EMIS platform; 202,000 schools are now digitized; and geospatial mapping has revealed gaps in access, infrastructure, and teacher deployment. “States now report real-time enrolment, teacher, and infrastructure data, enabling evidence-driven decisions,” he said.
The Honourable Minister also highlighted joint efforts to reintegrate out-of-school children. “Faith-based, nomadic, Tsangaya and non-state schools are being integrated into mainstream education,” he said. So far, 1,400 Tsangaya teachers have received digital literacy training, 35,000 children have been returned to school, and UBEC early childhood funding has expanded. A new reimbursement scheme for private schools will begin in 2025/26.
On security, he said the ministry is working with the National Counter-Terrorism Centre. “Comprehensive school safety frameworks have been implemented nationwide,” he noted, with 300 Unity College principals and security officers trained in emergency response.
Teachers, TVET, STEMM And The Skills Pipeline
He detailed a busy year of teacher reforms, showing improved professional standards supported by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria. “A total of 76,350 teachers have been newly registered across states,” he said, alongside digital literacy programmes for thousands of teachers and education officers.
In partnership with states, TVET expansion has accelerated with 1,600 centres accredited nationwide, 5,600 teachers trained in trade specialisations, 479 programmes accredited, and more than 250,000 students enrolled in certified institutions. States are also adopting open and distance learning for technical training.
The Honourable Minister also pointed to expanding collaboration with states in STEMM education. “We have trained 6,000 secondary school teachers in Artificial Intelligence,” he said. Digital learning buses have been deployed to STEMM institutions, and EDUREVAMP Communities of Practice are now active across multiple states.
On girl-child education, he said the AGILE programme has provided life skills to 95,341 girls, enrolled 47,463 girls into alternative learning centres, trained more than 279,000 learners in digital literacy, and awarded scholarships to 577,863 girls through conditional cash transfers. The LUMINAH 2030 project now operates in 12 pilot states.
Scholarships, Diaspora Expertise And Innovation Grants
Reforms under NESRI also include a broad suite of financial support schemes: “482,342 students benefited from NESRI scholarship programmes,” the minister said, noting that more than 828,000 applications were received nationwide.
He added that NELFUND resources have now reached 234 state-run tertiary institutions, with N9.7 billion disbursed to 12,434 students as bursaries and N4.05 billion to 8,535 students under the Nigerian Scholarship Scheme.
To strengthen teaching and research, the Diaspora Bridge Programme has engaged 808 diaspora experts and 889 Nigerian academics across 230 state-linked institutions.
The Honourable Ministry also launched the Student Venture Capital Grant, a STEMM-focused funding line for student-led startups and research ventures to strengthen innovation culture across tertiary institutions. “Nigeria’s next generation of innovators must emerge from our universities and polytechnics,” he said. “S-VCG ensures they are funded, supported, and mentored.”
Confronting The Alarming Dropout Pipeline
He presented new data that exposes the depth of Nigeria’s education pipeline collapse. “Thirty million children enter primary school; only ten million transition to JSS1; approximately six million reach Senior Secondary School,” he said.
He identified three key drivers: shortages of JSS and SSS schools, long commuting distances in rural communities, and cost or safety barriers. To address this, he said the government and states are working together to expand infrastructure, implement 12 years of compulsory basic education, and deploy more teachers to underserved areas.
A Call For Stronger Alignment
In his closing appeal, he urged Governors, Commissioners, and partners to accelerate reforms across all states, scale up data reporting for full NEDI integration, expand teacher training, and work with the private sector to build stronger TVET, STEMM, and innovation ecosystems. He also called on stakeholders to leverage NELFUND and S-VCG to unlock youth creativity and national productivity. “NESRI is not a federal programme. NESRI is Nigeria’s programme,” he said. “Its success depends on our shared resolve.”
He encouraged stakeholders to treat the forum as a turning point. “Let this Forum mark the acceleration of NESRI implementation at all levels, ensuring that every Nigerian child learns, thrives, and contributes to our nation’s future.”
