By Ngozi Nwankwo
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has urged education correspondents across Nigeria to utilise official education data to hold state governments and other stakeholders accountable for improving learning outcomes and expanding access to quality education.
Alausa made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at the 2026 Annual Education Summit of the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN), themed, “Three Years of the Tinubu Administration: Assessing Reforms, Progress and Challenges in Nigeria’s Education Sector.”
The minister encouraged journalists to move beyond routine reporting by using credible data from the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure Management System,NEDIMS, to interrogate government policies and monitor education indicators across the country.
Quoting President Bola Tinubu, Alausa said data remains critical to effective decision-making and accountability.
“If you don’t use data, it is like you are flying blind. Without data, you cannot do anything. We want journalists to access the platform and use the information to challenge governors and local government chairmen.
“You can now determine teacher-to-classroom ratios, student-to-teacher ratios, student-to-classroom ratios and the facilities available in schools down to the local level. This is data for public good, and you are the mouthpiece of the nation,” he said.
He commended ECAN for sustaining a platform that promotes informed discussions on education and enhances public awareness of government policies and programmes.
Describing education as the most critical investment for national development, Alausa said President Tinubu’s administration had placed the sector at the centre of its Renewed Hope Agenda, leading to reforms designed to build a globally competitive education system.
According to him, the ministry’s reforms are anchored on six strategic priorities: Technical and Vocational Education and Training,TVET, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics,STEM, digital transformation, reducing the number of out-of-school children, strengthening quality assurance, and improving education governance.
He said the reforms were being implemented through a deliberate strategy aimed at delivering measurable results.
Highlighting achievements in tertiary education, the minister said the Federal Government had maintained industrial harmony in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education through sustained engagement with unions.
“For the first time in three years, we have not experienced any disruption in our tertiary education system. This is a significant achievement, and I believe the President deserves commendation for it,” he said.
Alausa also noted improvements in the global ranking of Nigerian universities, disclosing that the number of institutions among the world’s top 1,000 universities had increased from 21 to 24 in 2026.
He added that 17 of the 24 ranked institutions were public universities, reflecting improvements in the country’s public tertiary education system.
The minister also called on journalists to investigate issues affecting basic education, particularly the high dropout rate between primary and junior secondary school.
He said Nigeria currently has about 25 million pupils in primary schools but only about five million students in junior secondary schools.
“That means about 20 million children drop out between primary and junior secondary school. Where are these children? That is a major challenge,” he said.
According to him, the country has about 90,000 primary schools but only 16,000 junior secondary schools, creating significant access gaps.
“The ratio is one junior secondary school to every eight primary schools. That tells you the problem is access,” he added.
On out-of-school children, Alausa said government interventions had enabled more than one million children to return to school over the past 24 months.
He, however, acknowledged that previous estimates of out-of-school children were inadequate for planning and disclosed that the ministry was collaborating with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on a comprehensive household survey to generate more accurate data.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, urged journalists to support ongoing reforms through balanced and responsible reporting that keeps Nigerians informed about progress and challenges in the sector.
“Education is the foundation upon which we build a productive economy, strengthen democratic institutions, reduce poverty and promote social cohesion,” she said.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission,UBEC, Aisha Garba, reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to ensuring that every Nigerian child has access to quality basic education regardless of background, location or economic status.
She stressed that the central objective of current education reforms was to ensure that no child is left behind.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists,NUJ, FCT Council, Mrs. Grace Ike, described the media as a critical partner in advancing education reforms through accountability and public enlightenment.
She urged government, parents, school administrators, policymakers and the media to work together to improve learning outcomes and safeguard the future of Nigerian children.
The Special Adviser to the Minister of Education on Media and Communication, Mr. Ikharo Attah, also emphasised the need for evidence-based reporting, urging journalists to rely on verified facts rather than assumptions.
He further called on information officers in education agencies to effectively communicate government reforms and achievements while encouraging the media to sustain reform efforts beyond individual administrations.
Earlier, ECAN Chairman, Mr. Chuks Ukwauta, said the summit was organised to provide an objective assessment of the Tinubu administration’s education reforms, achievements and outstanding challenges.
He noted that while significant policy initiatives had been introduced, issues such as inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, teacher development, research, technology integration and the large number of out-of-school children continued to hinder progress.
Ukwauta said the summit was intended to foster constructive engagement among policymakers, education stakeholders, development partners and the media.
