By Kwin Israel, The Sight News
The Federal Government has revealed a startling gap in Nigeria’s education system, disclosing that nearly 20 million pupils are lost between primary and junior secondary education due to inadequate access to schools rather than insecurity.
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday at the 2026 Annual Education Summit of the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) in Abuja, where he unveiled findings from the 2024/2025 Annual School Census.
According to the minister, Nigeria currently has about 25 million pupils enrolled in primary schools, but only about five million students are in junior secondary schools, exposing what he described as one of the country’s biggest education challenges.
“The problem is access,” Alausa said. “We have about 90,000 primary schools nationwide but only about 16,000 junior secondary schools. In many states, there are simply not enough secondary schools to absorb children completing primary education.”
He explained that the government had initially attributed the sharp decline to school dropouts, but data from the newly deployed Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI) showed that the shortage of junior secondary schools remains the primary cause.
The minister cited one northern state with over 1.6 million primary school pupils but only 334 junior secondary schools as evidence of the infrastructure deficit confronting the education sector.
Dr. Alausa said the findings underscore the importance of data-driven policymaking, noting that the Federal Government’s Digital Education Management Information System (DNEMIS) now provides real-time education statistics down to the school level.
He challenged education correspondents to make use of the public dashboard to hold state governments accountable for improving education infrastructure and service delivery.
“You can now see teacher-to-pupil ratios, classroom deficits and school facilities across the country. Use the data to ask governors why classrooms are not being built where they are needed,” he said.
The minister also disclosed that poverty accounts for more than 90 percent of children dropping out of school, while insecurity contributes only about four percent.
To reverse the trend, he said the Federal Government has expanded social protection programmes, including the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), NG-CARES, the HOPE programme and other World Bank-supported interventions aimed at helping vulnerable families keep their children in school.
He noted that the AGILE programme alone has returned more than one million girls to classrooms through conditional cash transfers, learning materials, transportation support and other incentives.
Beyond tackling access, the minister highlighted major gains recorded under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s education reform agenda over the past two years.
He said more than 150,000 Nigerians are currently enrolled in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes across over 1,600 training centres nationwide, supported by almost ₦100 billion invested in the sector.
According to him, trainees receive monthly stipends and are linked to employment opportunities upon graduation, with starter packs worth up to ₦1 million provided to support entrepreneurship.
The minister also announced that industrial harmony has returned to tertiary institutions, enabling students to complete their programmes within the prescribed duration.
“For the first time in years, a four-year course is truly a four-year course,” he said, attributing the stability to agreements reached with university, polytechnic and college-based unions.
Dr. Alausa further disclosed that Nigerian universities recorded improved global recognition in 2026, with 24 institutions now ranked among the world’s top 1,000 universities, including 17 public universities.
He also revealed that reforms to tertiary admission requirements have increased annual admissions from about 770,000 to over one million students, with the government targeting 1.5 million admissions in the current admission cycle.
Earlier in her remarks, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, while reeling some of the education reforms being implemented by the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu said they are laying a solid foundation for a sustainable transformation of Nigeria’s education sector, urging Nigerians to be patient as the reforms take time to yield full results.
Prof. Ahmad said meaningful reforms in education cannot produce instant outcomes, stressing that rebuilding a sector that had suffered years of neglect required sustained commitment.
“You can destroy something in seconds, but rebuilding it takes time. We are building systems and structures that will ensure lasting improvements in education quality. The changes may not happen overnight, but they will come,” she said.
She noted that the Federal Ministry of Education, under the leadership of Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, is implementing the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) as the strategic framework for repositioning education in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to her, the reforms focus on revitalising Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), strengthening Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, teacher professional development, curriculum review, digital transformation, quality assurance, education financing, school infrastructure, girls’ education, governance reforms and improved access to higher education.
She identified teacher quality as one of the ministry’s highest priorities, noting that continuous professional development programmes are being expanded through technology-driven platforms to ensure that teachers in both rural and urban communities have equal access to training opportunities.
Prof. Ahmad also said the ongoing curriculum review is integrating emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, climate education, financial literacy, civic responsibility and critical thinking to equip learners with skills required for the 21st-century economy.
She added that the ministry is strengthening the quality of instructional materials through the development of a national list of approved textbooks that meet established standards to guide schools and state governments.
The minister commended the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria for promoting informed public discourse on education, describing the media as a critical partner in advancing transparency, accountability and evidence-based policymaking.
On her part, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Aisha Garba, reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to ensuring that every Nigerian child has access to quality basic education, regardless of background, location or socio-economic status.
Delivering a goodwill message, Dr. Garba described education as the most powerful tool for national development and commended the media for its role in promoting public awareness of government reforms in the sector.
She said UBEC’s partnership with ECAN, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and other media organisations has been instrumental in enlightening Nigerians on the Commission’s programmes and interventions.
“The most important aspect is that no child should be left behind. Regardless of background, location or income level, every child must have access to quality education,” she said.
Dr. Garba reaffirmed UBEC’s commitment to supporting ECAN and strengthening collaboration with the media as the Commission continues to implement the education component of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
She also expressed appreciation to the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, for their leadership and support, noting that UBEC’s achievements over the past two years would not have been possible without their guidance.
The UBEC boss congratulated recipients of awards presented during the summit and commended the organisers for providing a platform to advance dialogue on education development in Nigeria.
