By Felix Khanoba
The Federal Government says more than one million out-of-school children have returned to classrooms over the past two years as part of ongoing reforms aimed at improving access to education across the country.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday at the 2026 Annual Education Summit of the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) in Abuja, where he also urged journalists to use official education data to hold governments accountable for service delivery.
Speaking at the summit themed ‘Three Years of the Tinubu Administration: Assessing Reforms, Progress and Challenges in Nigeria’s Education Sector,’ Alausa said the administration had made significant progress in expanding school enrolment through targeted interventions.
“In the last 24 months, we have moved over one million children off the streets into schools. Over one million,” he said.
Despite the achievement, the minister acknowledged that millions of Nigerian children were still outside the formal education system, stressing that reliable data remained critical to addressing the challenge.
He disclosed that the ministry, in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), is undertaking a nationwide household survey to determine the actual number of out-of-school children and guide future interventions.
Alausa attributed the country’s education gap largely to inadequate access to junior secondary schools, revealing that Nigeria has about 90,000 primary schools but only about 16,000 junior secondary schools.
According to him, nearly 25 million pupils are enrolled in primary schools, while only about five million proceed to junior secondary education.
“The ratio is one to eight. That tells you the major problem. The problem is access,” he said.
The minister also challenged education correspondents to embrace data-driven journalism by making full use of the Federal Ministry of Education’s Digitalised Nigeria Education Management Information System (DNEMIS), which provides detailed information on school infrastructure, enrolment, classrooms and teacher distribution nationwide.
“We need you journalists to use those data to challenge governors and local government authorities. You can now see the number of teachers, classrooms and facilities available in schools. You can drill down to the school level. This is using data for public good, and you are the mouthpiece of the nation,” he stated.
He explained that preliminary findings from the 2024/2025 Annual School Census had exposed major disparities in the transition from primary to junior secondary education, adding that the evidence was already informing government policy reviews.
“We don’t make reforms based on assumptions. We make them based on data,” Alausa said.
The minister further highlighted other reforms under the Tinubu administration, including sustained industrial harmony in tertiary institutions, expansion of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), digital transformation and improvements in university rankings.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, described the ongoing reforms as a deliberate effort to transform the sector rather than routine government activity.
“Change is never easy. But if you want different results, you have to change what you are doing,” she said, urging Nigerians to remain patient as the reforms gather momentum.
She said the Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) was driving reforms in teacher development, curriculum review, digital learning, STEM education, technical and vocational training, quality assurance and governance.
On her part, rhe Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Aisha Garba, reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to ensuring that every Nigerian child, regardless of background or location, has access to quality basic education.
She described education as the most powerful instrument for national development and pledged continued collaboration with the media and other stakeholders to strengthen the country’s basic education system.
Earlier, ECAN Chairman, Mr. Chuks Ukwuatu, said the summit was convened to critically assess the achievements, reforms and challenges in Nigeria’s education sector while promoting constructive engagement among policymakers, development partners and the media.
The AUTHORITY reports that the event also saw to presentations of awards to the minister and some heads of agencies, among others, for their efforts towards the massive educational development of the country.
The awardees include the minister, Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, Registrar, National Examinations Council (NECO), Prof. Dantani Wushishi, among others.
