Tinubu’s delivery on campaign promises evident in education sector — Alausa
By Uji A Iliyasu, Abuja
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has delivered on almost 100 per cent of the promises made during the 2023 presidential campaign, saying Nigeria is witnessing tangible transformation in education sector under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Alausa spoke in Abuja while receiving the outcomes of the 2025 Nigeria 2050: Child Foresight Analysis for Futures Literacy and Intergenerational Equity, a flagship initiative of the Anticipatory Governance and Foresight Capacity Programme of the Office of the Vice President, implemented with technical support from UNICEF.
The Child Foresight team was led to the Minister’s office by its Director-General, Chris Ngwodo, and Special Assistant on Special Duties to the Vice President, Mohammed Ahmed.
Alausa said the foresight findings were significant given Nigeria’s youthful population, stressing that the country’s demographic strength must be converted into a dividend through quality education, relevant skills, productive opportunities and long-term planning.
He said reforms under President Tinubu were no longer mere political rhetoric but were producing tangible results, particularly in education.
“I can assure you of that one fact because today we have a President who is leading the country, managing this country from the front, with the highest level of integrity, commitment, patriotism and determination to change the face of this country,” he said.
The Minister highlighted the Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), saying it was driving reforms in TVET, STEM education, teacher quality, quality assurance, reduction of out-of-school children, education data and digitalisation.
He said renewed investment in TVET was restoring technical education to the centre of national development, providing young Nigerians with pathways to acquire practical skills, entrepreneurship and employment.
Alausa also cited expanded medical and nursing education as part of efforts to address skills shortages and reduce migration pressures by increasing domestic training capacity.
On out-of-school children, he said the Federal Government was replacing long-standing estimates with household-level data to determine the actual scale and causes of exclusion.
He cited Kaduna and Jigawa as examples where surveys had produced significantly lower figures than previous estimates.
He stressed that reliable data was critical to effective intervention, noting that more than 56 per cent of public schools and 41 per cent of private schools had populated their records for the 2026 Annual School Census through the digitised Nigerian Education Management Information System (NEMIS).
“Without data, you’re flying blind. Data will tell you everything,” he said.
Alausa commended the Office of the Vice President, OSPRE and UNICEF for the foresight initiative, pledging to align its findings with NESRI and strengthen long-term education planning, skills development and intergenerational equity.
“Nigeria has changed, and it has changed for good,” he declared.