Can Tinubu’s education reforms rescue a generation? – Inside Alausa’s ambitious agenda

By Joseph Erunke, Abuja With nearly 46 million children reportedly captured in a new education data system, almost 250,000 Nigerians undergoing technical skills training and the government claiming to have returned one million out-of-school children to classrooms, the Tinubu administration is making an ambitious case for an education turnaround. But can impressive figures translate into lasting educational transformation?

For decades, Nigeria’s education crisis has been defined by millions of children outside classrooms, overcrowded schools, inadequate facilities, poorly equipped laboratories, frustrated teachers and graduates struggling to find employment despite their qualifications Now, in the office of the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, a digital dashboard is offering a different picture–one the minister says provides an unprecedented opportunity to monitor schools, track enrolment, identify infrastructure gaps and examine the distribution of teachers and pupils nationwide. With a few clicks, Alausa explained, officials can drill down into individual schools to examine enrollment figures, the number of girls, available facilities and teaching personnel. For a country long challenged by fragmented education statistics, this represents a potentially significant shift. But the real test of Nigeria’s education reforms is not how impressive the dashboard appears in Abuja. It is whether the technology delivers better classrooms, competent teachers, improved learning outcomes and greater opportunities for millions of children. That is the central question confronting Alausa as he presents President Bola Tinubu’s education reforms as the beginning of a measurable turnaround. Alausa Speaking while receiving notification of his selection for Vanguard’s Public Sector…