- He noted that despite significant donor investment in the two regions, learning outcomes remained poor
- the interventions cover Primary One to Primary Six pupils and rely on structured teaching methods
- He explained that ABEP centres and mainstream schools now operate with the same learning materials
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has revealed that nearly 80 per cent of donor funding allocated to Nigeria’s education sector over the last decade was channelled to the North-West and North-East, despite both regions continuing to record the country’s weakest literacy and numeracy performance.
Eko Hot Blog gathered that Alausa disclosed this on Monday during a special roundtable session at the Education World Forum in London, where he engaged global education leaders and ministers on reforms aimed at improving foundational learning in Nigeria.
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According to a statement issued by his media aide, Ikharo Attah, the minister said recent data generated through the National Education Data Initiative (NEDI) had exposed imbalances in previous funding patterns and would now guide more effective allocation of resources.
He noted that despite significant donor investment in the two regions, learning outcomes remained poor, stressing that government decisions would increasingly be driven by evidence and measurable impact.
The minister said the Federal Government had strengthened its foundational literacy and numeracy strategy by harmonising implementation standards across formal and non-formal education systems.
He explained that programmes such as Reading and Numeracy Activity (RANA) and Teaching at the Right Level were being expanded through the Universal Basic Education Commission across 15 states.
According to him, the interventions cover Primary One to Primary Six pupils and rely on structured teaching methods, continuous teacher mentoring and regular learning assessments.
Alausa also highlighted the role of the Accelerated Basic Education Programme developed by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, noting that it helps out-of-school children and adolescents achieve foundational learning targets within three years.
He added that both formal and non-formal learning systems now feed data into NEDI, creating a unified monitoring platform for the first time.
The minister cited initiatives such as EKOEXCEL, KwaraLEARN and BayelsaPRIME as examples of successful technology-driven reforms already producing measurable improvements in learning outcomes.
He said KwaraLEARN significantly reduced foundational learning gaps within two years, while BayelsaPRIME recorded major literacy gains in less than five months.
Alausa stated that foundational literacy reforms had become a major pillar of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the National Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Programme.
He disclosed that government was finalising a National Policy on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy to provide long-term legal backing for implementation nationwide.
The minister further said Nigeria’s partnership agreement with the Global Partnership for Education links a large share of funding to measurable improvements in learning outcomes, teacher management and data usage.
He also announced plans to raise the Universal Basic Education Commission’s allocation from the Consolidated Revenue Fund from two per cent to four per cent, effectively doubling federal investment in basic education.
On tackling the out-of-school children challenge, Alausa said the Accelerated Basic Education Programme was designed to help learners return to the formal school system at junior secondary level.
He explained that ABEP centres and mainstream schools now operate with the same learning materials and supervision structures across participating states to ensure uniform standards.
The minister said NEDI had already captured over 32 million students from more than 220,000 schools across 21 states.
The platform is expected to serve as a central education database integrating information from agencies including UBEC, JAMB, NELFUND, WAEC, NECO and NABTEB.
A key component of the initiative is the National Learner Identity Number, which will assign each student a unique identifier throughout their educational journey to improve data tracking and record management.
The NEDI project followed the Federal Government’s inauguration of a 25-member committee in January 2025 to establish a unified education data system for the country.
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