FG Restores NMEC Autonomy, Intensifies War on Illiteracy

The Federal Government has restored full institutional autonomy to the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC) to strengthen the fight against illiteracy.

The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the 2026 International Literacy Day.

The global event has the theme, “Literacy for people, the planet and prosperity.”

Ahmad described the restoration of NMEC’s autonomy as a major step towards improving mass literacy and non-formal education nationwide.

She also thanked the Presidency for supporting the move.

“A major milestone in this effort is the full restoration of academic autonomy,” the minister said.

She noted that NMEC had operated under significant constraints for years. She added that the government had begun tackling those challenges.

The minister also announced plans to expand infrastructure for adult and non-formal education across the country.

The plans include a new National Centre for Adult Education and a permanent headquarters for NMEC.

The government will also activate community learning centres in areas with limited access to formal education.

NMEC staff will serve as instructors at the centres, giving young people and adults more flexible routes to acquire literacy skills.

Ahmad said the centres would help people who could not access or complete conventional schooling.

She urged stakeholders outside government to join the campaign against illiteracy, given the scale of the challenge among young people and adults.

On Sustainable Development Goal 4, which promotes inclusive and quality education, Ahmad expressed confidence in Nigeria’s progress.

“SDG 4 is not just about adult literacy, but about education generally,” she said, adding that Nigeria remained on course.

The minister also promised to include rural communities in programmes involving digital technology and artificial intelligence for teacher training.

She said the government would ensure that teachers in rural areas did not lose out because of their location.

Ahmad further challenged the new NMEC leadership to become more proactive and inclusive.

“You need to do more. You need to be more proactive,” she told the commission’s leadership.

She said the government remained committed to expanding lifelong and non-formal education as part of its broader strategy to eradicate illiteracy.

Meanwhile, NMEC’s newly appointed Executive Secretary, Prof. Dahiru Muhammad Shuni, raised concern over the lack of current data on Nigeria’s literacy rate.

Shuni said the latest available figures dated back to 2010.

“When I came in, the first thing I asked was to obtain the data,” he said.

He described the situation as unacceptable and said authorities had started efforts to produce reliable and up-to-date figures.

Such data, he noted, would help the government determine the scale of illiteracy and better target intervention programmes.

Also speaking, the Head of Education Sector at the UNESCO Abuja office, Mr. Oladeji Adeyemi, said global literacy had improved significantly over the past decade.

He said more than 88 per cent of the world’s population could now read and write, compared with about 65 per cent a decade ago.

Adeyemi reaffirmed UNESCO’s commitment to supporting Nigeria and other member states in using literacy and education to advance sustainable development.

He cited Kano State as an example of successful collaboration in mass education.

According to him, UNESCO-backed programmes in the state now go beyond reading, writing and numeracy to include health and well-being education under family-life initiatives.