Over One Million Out-of-School Children Return To Class As Tertiary Admissions Hit 1.02m – Alausa
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has revealed that more than one million out-of-school children have returned to classrooms in the last 24 months following education reforms introduced under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The minister also disclosed that admissions into tertiary institutions have increased from about 770,000 to 1.02 million within the same period.
Alausa made the disclosure while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Annual Education Summit of the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) in Abuja.
Presenting what he described as evidence of a shift towards data-driven governance, the minister said the Federal Government has moved away from making policy decisions based on assumptions and is now relying on accurate education statistics to design reforms, improve planning and allocate resources more effectively.
He urged education journalists to make greater use of government data in holding public officials accountable and promoting informed public discourse on education.
The minister further announced that the Federal Ministry of Education is collaborating with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to conduct a nationwide household survey aimed at generating accurate education data for every state, local government area, ward and household across the country.
Earlier, ECAN Chairman, Chux Ukwuatu, said the annual summit was convened to provide an honest assessment of the Tinubu administration’s education reforms while encouraging constructive dialogue among key stakeholders.
The summit, themed “Three Years of the Tinubu Administration: Assessing Reforms, Progress and Challenges in Nigeria’s Education Sector,” brought together policymakers, education administrators, academics and journalists to review the Federal Government’s achievements in the sector and identify the challenges that still require attention.
The high point of the event was the presentation of the ECAN Education Awards to distinguished individuals and institutions in recognition of their excellence, innovation and outstanding contributions to the development of Nigeria’s education sector.
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