Nigeria’s education reforms will only deliver lasting results if they are anchored on reliable data and strengthened collaboration between the Federal Government and the states, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has said.
Speaking at the opening of the five-day Executive Retreat for Commissioners of Education organised by the Committee of States’ Commissioners of Education, COSCEN, Alausa said President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda places education at the heart of national development, stressing that meaningful reforms require coordinated action across all levels of government.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, Alausa said while the Federal Government provides policy direction and strategic interventions, the responsibility for delivering quality education rests largely with state governments, making stronger federal-state partnership indispensable for achieving sustainable reforms.
The minister commended COSCEN, led by its Chairman, Dr. Lawal Olohungbebe, for convening the retreat, describing it as a timely platform for strategic engagement, peer learning and enhanced cooperation among education stakeholders nationwide.
He identified the transition from assumption-based planning to evidence-driven governance as one of the most significant reforms in the education sector, announcing the rollout of the National Education Data Infrastructure, NEDI, and the Digitalised Nigeria Education Management Information System, DNEMIS.
According to him, the integrated digital platforms will provide real-time data on student enrolment, teacher deployment, school infrastructure, learning outcomes and other critical indicators required for effective planning, budgeting, monitoring and resource allocation.
Alausa explained that the platforms would integrate education data from schools, local governments, states and federal institutions into a single interoperable system, thereby improving transparency, accountability and evidence-based decision-making across the sector.
He urged all states to complete their Annual School Census through the digitised platform, commending Kaduna and Borno states for their progress while encouraging others to accelerate implementation.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Education had deployed digital dashboards and smart boards, with analytical support from the National Bureau of Statistics, to strengthen education planning nationwide.
The minister also called on state governments to maximise opportunities under the World Bank-supported HOPE Education Programme, which provides US$552 million in performance-based financing for states that meet agreed implementation milestones.
He noted that although all 36 states are eligible to benefit from the programme, several have yet to complete key requirements, including signing Subsidiary Loan Agreements, SLAs, opening designated programme accounts and fulfilling mandatory data reporting obligations.
Alausa urged Commissioners of Education to work closely with the Federal Ministry of Education and the World Bank to meet the Programme-for-Results conditions and unlock additional funding to improve access to quality education, learning outcomes and sector governance.
To sustain the momentum of ongoing reforms, the minister proposed quarterly review meetings by the Council of State Commissioners of Education to encourage peer learning, monitor progress, share best practices and strengthen accountability across the federation.
Highlighting priorities under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative, NESRI, he said the Federal Government is expanding access to affordable digital learning technologies, including offline instructional platforms, comprehensive digital learning resources from Primary One to Senior Secondary School and teacher-support tools to improve classroom instruction.
He, however, cautioned against investing solely in costly smart school infrastructure without adequate maintenance plans, stressing that quality teaching materials, well-supported teachers and conducive learning environments remain the key drivers of improved learning outcomes.
Reaffirming that education is a shared national responsibility beyond political affiliations, Alausa called on stakeholders to institutionalise reliable education data, strengthen accountability, invest in human capital and sustain collaborative reforms capable of delivering measurable improvements in learning outcomes.
He formally declared the executive retreat open, urging commissioners to embrace evidence-based policymaking, collaboration and continuity, insisting that Nigeria’s future prosperity and global competitiveness would depend largely on the quality of education provided to its young population.
In his keynote address titled “Beyond the Tenure of Commissioners: Sustaining Education Reforms in the Era of Digital Disruption,” former Minister of Aviation and Chancellor of the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, Osita Chidoka, urged commissioners to build reforms that transcend political tenures through policy continuity, stronger teacher development, reliable data and sustained investment in learning outcomes.
Also speaking, the World Bank’s Senior Economist and Task Team Leader for the HOPE Education Programme, Shin Nomura, who represented the Country Director, Matthew Verghis, reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s education reforms.
He said the programme, which became effective in March 2026, is designed to strengthen education governance, financing, teacher development, learning outcomes and data systems through a performance-based financing model, urging states to complete all preparatory requirements to access the available funding.
