Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has highlighted ongoing reforms in the country’s education sector, stating that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is driving major transformation across basic education nationwide. Alausa spoke during a high-level roundtable session at the Education World Forum in London, United Kingdom, where he outlined……
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has highlighted ongoing reforms in the country’s education sector, stating that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is driving major transformation across basic education nationwide.
Alausa spoke during a high-level roundtable session at the Education World Forum in London, United Kingdom, where he outlined key policy interventions aimed at improving literacy, numeracy and access to quality education in Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a statement by Special Adviser (Media & Communications), Office of the Honourable Minister of Education, Ikharo Attah.
The minister disclosed that nearly 80 per cent of donor funding invested in Nigeria’s education sector over the last decade was concentrated in the North-West and North-East regions.
Despite the heavy investments, he said the two regions still account for the country’s lowest literacy and numeracy performance levels.
According to Alausa, findings from the National Education Data Initiative (NEDI) have now provided government with credible data needed to improve policy direction, resource allocation and learning outcomes.
He explained that the Federal Government had harmonised foundational literacy and numeracy programmes under a single national standard covering both formal and non-formal education systems.
The minister said initiatives such as RANA for Primary 1 to 3 pupils and Teaching at the Right Level for Primary 4 to 6 were currently being expanded across 15 states through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
He noted that the programmes utilise structured lesson delivery, teacher mentoring and continuous assessments to improve pupils’ learning outcomes.
Alausa also highlighted the impact of the Accelerated Basic Education Programme (ABEP), developed by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, describing it as a key intervention designed to help out-of-school children and adolescents acquire foundational literacy and numeracy skills within three years.
He added that both formal and non-formal learning institutions now report into the NEDI platform, enabling government to monitor education coverage and performance nationwide through a unified system for the first time.
The minister further pointed to state-led education reforms such as EKOEXCEL, KwaraLEARN and BayelsaPRIME, describing them as successful examples of technology-driven and data-focused teaching models already delivering measurable improvements in learning outcomes.
According to him, foundational literacy and numeracy remain central pillars of the Renewed Hope Agenda and the National Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Programme.
He disclosed that the Federal Government was finalising a National Policy on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy to institutionalise ongoing reforms and ensure long-term sustainability.
Alausa also announced plans to increase the allocation to UBEC from the Consolidated Revenue Fund from two per cent to four per cent, a move expected to significantly strengthen funding for basic education across the country.
On efforts to address the out-of-school children crisis, the minister said the ABEP initiative now provides a structured pathway for learners outside the formal school system to transition into Junior Secondary School.
He explained that both ABEP centres and conventional schools currently operate under the same quality assurance and supervision framework.
The minister stressed that Nigeria’s education reforms are increasingly focused on measurable learning outcomes rather than merely tracking educational inputs.
“With one national standard across formal and non-formal education systems and a policy framework nearing completion, Nigeria is laying a sustainable foundation that will outlive individual programmes and significantly reduce learning poverty at scale,” Alausa stated.
