Abuja: The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced that over one million out-of-school children have returned to classrooms in the past 20 months. This statement was released in Abuja by Ikharo Attah, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the minister, highlighting significant strides made in the nation’s educational sector.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the minister made these remarks during a meeting with the newly appointed United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Country Representative to Nigeria, Prof. Isaiah Da Rosa, on a courtesy visit to his office. Dr. Alausa also revealed that interventions have benefited nearly 6.7 million girls, improving their access to and retention in school. He emphasized the necessity for a balanced approach to both girl-child and boy-child education to ensure comprehensive human capital development.
Dr. Alausa outlined the ministry’s reform program, focusing on six key areas: Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), addressing out-of-school children, digitalization, girl-child education, and quality assurance. The minister highlighted ongoing investments in skills development, technology, and teacher capacity, supported by reliable data to identify needs, target interventions, and measure outcomes effectively.
The collaboration with UNESCO was also a focal point of the discussion. Dr. Alausa welcomed the organization’s technical support in teacher development and underscored the Ministry’s Accelerated Teacher Professional Programme, aiming to target one million in-service teachers. He acknowledged UNESCO’s contributions to TVET assessment, digital transformation, education for peace, and media and information literacy.
Prof. Isaiah Da Rosa reaffirmed UNESCO’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s education reform efforts, describing the organization as a technical partner ready to provide expertise in areas identified by the country. He commended the ministry’s progress in digitising education data and expressed readiness to deepen cooperation in TVET, teacher capacity development, and the reintegration of out-of-school children. Da Rosa highlighted that UNESCO-supported programmes had already trained over 28,000 teachers nationwide and reached more than 1.7 million students.
The UNESCO representative assured that the organization’s specialized institutes remain available to provide additional expertise to support Nigeria’s education sector. He emphasized UNESCO’s commitment to mobilizing domestic resources and leveraging strategic technical partnerships to improve access, strengthen quality, and equip both boys and girls with the knowledge and skills required to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s development.