FG Intensifies Education Reforms, Targets Millions Outside Classrooms

The Federal Government has intensified reforms across Nigeria’s education sector, targeting millions of children outside school, teacher development, curriculum renewal and skills acquisition.

Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmed, disclosed this while outlining measures being implemented under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Ahmed said the Federal Ministry of Education, led by Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, was working to strengthen access, improve quality and develop human capital across the education system.

At the basic education level, she said the ministry was reviewing the national curriculum to “reduce subject overload” and move learning away from excessive reliance on rote memorisation.

The revised curriculum will focus more on competencies and what learners “understand, can apply and can demonstrate”. The ministry is also reviewing the curriculum for pre-service teachers to better prepare them for modern classrooms.

Teacher development remains a major focus of the reforms. Ahmed disclosed that although about N20 billion went to states for teacher training in 2025, only about 10 per cent of teachers benefited.

A baseline assessment also identified teachers who had spent between 25 and 30 years in service without participating in professional development.

To address the gap, the ministry introduced a zero-rated digital teacher development platform accessible through Android devices.

More than 60,000 teachers have participated in its first phase. Ahmed said the ministry was working towards a more structured continuous professional development system that could eventually become mandatory.

The proposed Comprehensive Teacher Policy will cover recruitment, training, welfare, deployment and career progression. The ministry is developing it with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria and the Nigeria Union of Teachers.

The government is also changing how basic education resources are allocated and monitored.

Ahmed said the Universal Basic Education Commission had revised its disbursement guidelines and funding formula to make interventions more responsive to actual needs.

She said the new approach would establish stronger links between performance and additional support while placing greater attention on procurement and value for money.

A new school grading framework will classify schools from A to D based on infrastructure, facilities, teacher qualifications and learner achievement.

According to Ahmed, the system will help authorities target interventions and recognise schools that sustain good performance.

At the tertiary level, the government is expanding access to medicine, pharmacy, science and engineering.

Ahmed disclosed that 10 medical institutions had been established or strengthened, while some institutions had doubled or tripled their admission quotas.

More than N400 billion has been invested in expanding capacity in critical fields, alongside stronger accreditation and verification processes.

She cautioned that accreditation must translate into sustainable capacity, with institutions expected to maintain adequate facilities, equipment and staffing.

“Institutions must maintain sustainable facilities, equipment and staffing beyond accreditation exercises,” Ahmed noted.

She also explained that the seven-year moratorium on establishing new universities and other tertiary institutions would give existing institutions room to improve infrastructure, staffing and academic quality.

Student financing is another major component of the access reforms.

Ahmed said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) had supported more than 1.6 million students across about 322 universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

Participation remains voluntary and requires annual application and verification. Once approved, beneficiaries can proceed with registration because NELFUND provides assurance for payment of approved institutional fees.

While acknowledging delays in some cases, Ahmed said the processes were being improved to make the scheme more responsive.

The government is also turning attention to children who remain outside the formal education system.

Ahmed noted that estimates of out-of-school children range from about 10 million to more than 20 million, making reliable national data critical to planning.

She said the ministry was developing a national education data platform alongside a nationwide mapping exercise.

The National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education and the National Commission for Nomadic Education have completed their mapping exercises, while the Agency for Mass Education is nearing completion.

Ahmed stressed that the exercise would not become “solely data collection”, as authorities planned to link identified children directly to enrolment and intervention programmes.

Traditional and religious leaders are also being engaged to help reach communities with large numbers of children outside formal education.

One major response is the establishment of bilingual schools combining religious and conventional education.

The initiative targets eight states with some of the highest numbers of out-of-school children. Three schools are planned in each state, while four will be established in two of the states.

The schools will have boarding capacities of about 1,500 to 2,000 learners. Ahmed disclosed that the model was already operational in Maiduguri and Kano, with preparations continuing in the other participating states.

The ministry is also implementing the Almajiri Policy, which defines the responsibilities of the Federal Government, state and local governments, parents and communities in educating children in the Almajiri system.

A major component integrates religious and conventional education through an Accelerated Basic Education Curriculum.

The programme condenses basic education into four levels while accommodating learners who enter the system at an older age.

The policy also provides a minimum age for entry into Alharma schools and emerged from consultations with Islamic sects, Alharma teachers and other stakeholders.

Ahmed said the objective was to provide children with both religious and conventional education while progressively integrating Alharma teachers and clerics into the wider education system.

Beyond conventional academic pathways, the government is expanding Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to address skills shortages.

Ahmed said a national skills-gap assessment identified about 40 trades, with 25 prioritised for immediate attention.

The first application cycle attracted about 1.3 million applications, while more than 100,000 beneficiaries received training through public and private training centres.

Participating centres received N30,000 per trainee, while beneficiaries received N22,500 for transportation.

The second cohort attracted about 1.8 million applications. Under the revised arrangement, participating centres received N50,000 per trainee, while beneficiaries received N30,000.

Participants are expected to undergo assessment under the National Skills Qualification Framework and receive starter packs to support their transition into employment or enterprise.

The ministry is also promoting innovation and entrepreneurship among university students.

Ahmed highlighted the Student Venture Capital Grant, which provides up to N50 million for students with scalable innovation projects.

She also cited the Entrepreneurship, Business and Innovation Centre programme, which started at the University of Lagos and is being expanded to 16 additional universities.

The centres will provide entrepreneurship training, mentoring and access to funding alongside academic programmes.

On monitoring, Ahmed said data and digitalisation were central to measuring the impact of the reforms.

“The reforms will ultimately be measured by improvements in learning outcomes, stronger teacher capacity, expanded access to education, increased skills opportunities and a reduction in the number of children excluded from the education system,” she said.

The ministry is strengthening learner-level data, digitising processes and expanding electronic monitoring to improve planning, resource allocation and assessment.

School grading, national assessments and e-monitoring will provide evidence on learning outcomes, teacher development, access and institutional performance.

Drawing from her experience as a product of Nigeria’s public university system, Ahmed stressed the importance of maintaining public education as a pathway to opportunity and human capital development.

She reaffirmed her commitment to working with Alausa to sustain the reforms and ensure that policies translate into tangible outcomes for learners, teachers and institutions.