WorldStage— The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmed, has outlined wide-ranging reforms being implemented across Nigeria’s education sector under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, covering curriculum renewal, teacher development, tertiary education, student financing, skills acquisition, innovation and interventions for out-of-school children.
She said the Federal Ministry of Education, under the leadership of the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, is strengthening access, improving quality and advancing human capital development across the education value chain.
At the basic education level, Prof. Ahmed highlighted the ongoing reform of the national curriculum to reduce subject overload and move learning away from excessive reliance on rote memorisation towards a competency-based approach focused on what learners understand, can apply and can demonstrate.
The curriculum for pre-service teachers is also being reviewed to better prepare teachers for the demands of the modern classroom.
Teacher professional development remains a major priority. Prof. Ahmed disclosed that although about ₦20 billion was provided to states for teacher training in 2025, available data showed that only about 10 per cent of teachers benefited.
A baseline assessment also identified teachers who had spent between 25 and 30 years in service without participating in professional development.
To address the gap, she said the Ministry has introduced a zero-rated digital teacher development platform accessible on Android devices to teachers in public and private schools across rural and urban communities.
“More than 60,000 teachers have participated in the first phase. The Ministry is also working towards making continuous professional development more structured and eventually mandatory, supported by the Comprehensive Teacher Policy covering recruitment, training, welfare, deployment and career progression.
“The policy is being developed with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria and the Nigeria Union of Teachers.
“The Ministry is equally strengthening the allocation and monitoring of basic education resources,” she stated.
Prof. Ahmed said the Universal Basic Education Commission has revised its disbursement guidelines and funding formula to make interventions more responsive to actual needs, with stronger links between performance and additional support.
According to her, procurement and value for money, particularly in school construction, are also receiving greater attention, adding “A new school grading framework will classify schools from A to D based on infrastructure, facilities, teacher qualifications and learner achievement to guide targeted support and recognise sustained performance.”
At the tertiary level, Prof. Ahmed outlined measures to expand access to medicine, pharmacy, science and engineering.
She disclosed that 10 medical institutions have been established or strengthened, while admission quotas in some institutions have been doubled or tripled to create additional capacity.
More than ₦400 billion, she said, has been invested in expanding capacity in critical fields, alongside stronger accreditation and verification processes.
She stressed that institutions must maintain sustainable facilities, equipment and staffing beyond accreditation exercises, and disclosed that the seven-year moratorium on establishing new universities and other tertiary institutions is intended to provide existing institutions with room to strengthen infrastructure, staffing and academic quality.
Student financing is another key component of the access reforms, Prof. Ahmed said, pointing out that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, has supported more than 1.6 million students from about 322 universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
She explained that participation is voluntary and requires annual application and verification, after which beneficiaries can proceed with registration because NELFUND provides assurance for payment of approved institutional fees.
While acknowledging that delays have occurred in some cases, she said the processes are being improved to make the scheme more responsive
