The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmed, says ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s education sector are beginning to take shape, with emphasis on curriculum renewal, teacher development, tertiary access, skills acquisition and improved learning outcomes.
Ahmed, who spoke on the reforms being implemented under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, said the Federal Ministry of Education, under the leadership of the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, was strengthening access, quality and human capital development across the education value chain.
She said the review of the national curriculum was aimed at reducing subject overload and shifting the focus from rote memorisation to competency-based learning, where learners are assessed on what they understand, can apply and demonstrate.
According to her, the curriculum for pre-service teachers is also being reviewed to better equip teachers for the demands of modern classrooms.
Ahmed identified teacher development as a major priority, noting that although about N20 billion was provided to states for teacher training in 2025, available data showed that only about 10 per cent of teachers benefited.
She said a baseline assessment also revealed that some teachers had spent between 25 and 30 years in service without participating in professional development.
To bridge the gap, the ministry introduced a zero-rated digital teacher development platform accessible to teachers in public and private schools through Android devices.
She said more than 60,000 teachers had participated in the first phase, while the ministry was working towards making continuous professional development more structured and eventually mandatory.
Ahmed added that the Comprehensive Teacher Policy, being developed in collaboration with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria and the Nigeria Union of Teachers, would address recruitment, training, welfare, deployment and career progression.
On basic education funding, the minister 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 strengthen the link between performance and additional support, while greater attention was being given to procurement and value for money, particularly in school construction.
Ahmed also disclosed plans for a new school grading framework that would classify schools from A to D based on infrastructure, facilities, teacher qualifications and learner achievement.
At the tertiary level, she said the government was expanding capacity in medicine, pharmacy, science and engineering, adding that 10 medical institutions had been established or strengthened.
According to her, admission quotas in some institutions have also been doubled or tripled, while more than N400 billion has been invested in expanding capacity in critical fields.
She said stronger accreditation and verification processes were being introduced to ensure institutions had sustainable facilities, equipment and staffing beyond accreditation exercises.
Ahmed explained that the seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new universities and other tertiary institutions was designed to give existing institutions room to strengthen infrastructure, staffing and academic quality.
On student financing, the minister said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund had supported more than 1.6 million students from about 322 universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
She explained that participation in the scheme was voluntary and required annual application and verification, after which beneficiaries could proceed with registration based on NELFUND’s assurance for payment of approved institutional fees.
Ahmed acknowledged that there had been delays in some cases but said efforts were ongoing to improve the processes.
She also highlighted measures to tackle the challenge of out-of-school children, saying estimates currently range from about 10 million to more than 20 million.
She said the ministry was developing a national education data platform alongside a nationwide mapping exercise to establish reliable figures and identify children requiring intervention.
According to her, the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education and the National Commission for Nomadic Education had completed their respective mapping exercises, while the Agency for Mass Education was nearing completion.
Ahmed said the exercise was being linked directly to enrolment and intervention, rather than being treated solely as data collection.
She added that traditional and religious leaders were being engaged to help reach communities with large numbers of children outside the formal school system.
The minister said one of the practical responses was the establishment of bilingual schools combining religious and conventional education in eight states with some of the highest numbers of out-of-school children.
She said three schools were planned in each state, with four in two of the states, adding that the schools would have boarding capacities of between 1,500 and 2,000 learners.
According to her, the model is already operational in Maiduguri and Kano, while preparations are ongoing in other participating states.
Ahmed also highlighted the Almajiri Policy, which defines the responsibilities of the Federal, state and local governments, parents and communities in providing education for children in the Almajiri system.
She said the policy provides for the integration of religious and conventional education through an Accelerated Basic Education Curriculum, which condenses basic education into four levels while accommodating learners who enter the system at an older age.
Beyond formal education, the minister said the government was expanding Technical and Vocational Education and Training as part of its human capital development strategy.
She said a national skills-gap assessment identified about 40 trades, with 25 prioritised for immediate attention.
Ahmed disclosed that the first application cycle attracted about 1.3 million applications, with more than 100,000 beneficiaries trained through public and private training centres.
She said participating centres received N30,000 per trainee, while beneficiaries received N22,500 for transportation.
The second cohort, she added, attracted about 1.8 million applications, with support increased to N50,000 per trainee for participating centres and N30,000 for beneficiaries.
Participants are expected to undergo assessment under the National Skills Qualification Framework and receive starter packs to facilitate their transition into employment or enterprise.
Ahmed further disclosed that the ministry was promoting innovation and entrepreneurship among university students through initiatives including the Student Venture Capital Grant, which provides up to N50 million for students with scalable innovation projects.
She said the Entrepreneurship, Business and Innovation Centre programme, which began at the University of Lagos, was being expanded to 16 additional universities to provide students with entrepreneurship training, mentoring and access to funding.
The minister said data and digitalisation remained central to monitoring the reforms, with the ministry strengthening learner-level data, digitising processes and expanding electronic monitoring to improve planning and resource allocation.
She said school grading, national assessments and e-monitoring would provide evidence on learning outcomes, teacher development, access and institutional performance.
Ahmed said the reforms would ultimately be measured by improved 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 reaffirmed her commitment to working with Alausa to sustain the reform momentum and ensure that government policies and programmes translate into tangible outcomes for learners, teachers and educational institutions.
