By Mariam Abeeb
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has revealed that about 80 per cent of donor funding allocated to Nigeria’s education sector over the past decade was channelled to the North-West and North-East regions.
Despite the huge investments, the minister lamented that both regions still record the lowest literacy and numeracy rates in the country, stressing that the Federal Government now has credible data to ensure more effective allocation of resources.
Alausa made the disclosure on Monday during a special roundtable session at the Education World Forum in London, according to a statement issued in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah.
“NEDI data revealed a key issue: 80 per cent of donor funds in the last decade went to the North-West and North-East, yet those zones still have the lowest literacy and numeracy rates. We now have the data to redirect resources where they deliver results,” the minister said.
Speaking on Nigeria’s Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) reforms, Alausa said the government had unified literacy delivery under a single national standard covering both formal and non-formal education systems.
According to him, the government is scaling the RANA programme for Primary One to Three pupils and the Teaching at the Right Level initiative for Primary Four to Six across 15 states through the Universal Basic Education Commission.
He explained that the initiatives rely on structured lesson plans, weekly teacher coaching and regular assessments to improve learning outcomes.
The minister also said the Accelerated Basic Education Programme (ABEP), developed by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, provides foundational literacy and numeracy education for out-of-school children and adolescents within three years.
“Both tracks now report into NEDI, so for the first time we can monitor formal and non-formal education coverage from one dashboard,” he added.
Highlighting progress recorded by some states, Alausa cited programmes such as EKOEXCEL, KwaraLEARN and BayelsaPRIME as successful examples of data-driven and technology-enabled teaching models.
“The impact is measurable. KwaraLEARN halved foundational learning deficiencies in less than two years, while BayelsaPRIME improved literacy by 20 percentage points in just 19 weeks. The model is working, and we are now scaling it nationally,” he said.
The minister further disclosed that foundational literacy and numeracy had been prioritised under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, adding that the Federal Government was finalising a National Policy on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy to institutionalise the reforms.
He also revealed plans to increase the Universal Basic Education Commission’s share of the Consolidated Revenue Fund from two per cent to four per cent in a move aimed at doubling federal funding for basic education.
On tackling Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis, Alausa said ABEP offers a recognised pathway for children outside the formal school system to transition into junior secondary education.
According to him, both ABEP centres and formal schools now utilise the same learning materials and coaching tools, with State Universal Basic Education Board officials supervising implementation across 15 states.
The minister maintained that the Federal Government had shifted its focus from educational inputs to measurable learning outcomes, expressing confidence that the ongoing reforms would significantly reduce learning poverty nationwide.
“With the National Policy on FLN nearly finalised and one standard across formal and non-formal systems, we are building a foundation that will outlast any single programme cycle. That is how we will end learning poverty at scale,” he said.
