Tunji Alausa, minister of education, says the north-east and north-east regions have recorded the lowest literacy and numeracy rates nationwide despite receiving 80 percent of Nigeria’s education donor funding in the last 10 years.
Alausa spoke on Monday at the Education World Forum (EWF) in
London, where he engaged education ministers and global stakeholders on
Nigeria’s foundational learning reforms.
According to a statement by Ikharo Attah, his special
adviser on media and communication, Alausa said the federal government now has
credible data to guide more effective allocation of resources.
“NEDI data revealed a key issue: 80% of donor funds in the
last decade went to the North-West and North-East, yet those zones still have
the lowest literacy and numeracy rates. We now have the data to redirect
resources where they deliver results,” he said.
Speaking on Nigeria’s Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
(FLN) initiatives, the minister said the country had successfully unified
foundational literacy delivery under a single national standard covering both
formal and non-formal education systems.
“We’re scaling RANA for Primary 1 to 3 and Teaching at the
Right Level for Primary 4 to 6 across 15 states through UBEC. This uses
structured lesson plans, weekly teacher coaching and regular assessments,”
Alausa said.
He noted that the Accelerated Basic Education Programme
(ABEP), developed by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council
(NEDI), delivers the same foundational literacy and numeracy outcomes for
out-of-school children and adolescents within three years.
“Both tracks now report into NEDI, so for the first time we
can monitor formal and non-formal education coverage from one dashboard,”
Alausa added.
Speaking on efforts to address Nigeria’s out-of-school
children crisis, the minister said ABEP provides a recognised pathway for
children outside the formal system to transition into Junior Secondary School.
“ABEP centres and formal schools now use the same coaching
tools and learning materials, with SUBEB officers supervising both systems
across 15 states. There are no parallel systems, lower costs and consistent
quality,” he said.
On accountability and data-driven governance, the minister
said the newly deployed National Education Data Initiative had exposed critical
gaps in donor funding effectiveness.
Alausa noted that foundational literacy and numeracy now sit
at the centre of President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda and the national
foundational literacy and numeracy programme.
He said the federal government is finalising a national
policy on foundational literacy and numeracy to provide a sustainable legal and
institutional framework for reforms across federal, state and non-formal
education systems.
“Through our Partnership Compact with GPE, 70 per cent of
funding is tied to measurable outcomes in learning, teacher management and data
utilisation,” he said.
The minister added that the government also plans to
increase the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) share of the
consolidated revenue fund from two per cent to four percent.
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