The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Federal Capital Territory Council Grace Ike has urged reporters, policymakers and citizens to take a sober, evidence-driven look at the administration’s education agenda during her address at the Education Summit 2026.
Speaking at the event on Wednesday convened by the Education Correspondents of Nigeria, Ike welcomed the summit’s theme “Three Years of the Tinubu Administration: Assessing Reforms, Achievements and Challenges in Nigeria’s Education Sector” as timely and essential for national development.
“Education remains the foundation of any serious nation,” she said, calling on stakeholders to assess progress beyond slogans and sentiment.
Ike said reforms introduced over the past three years deserve objective review to determine whether they are reaching classrooms, supporting teachers, improving learning conditions, expanding access for public-school students, and narrowing urban–rural disparities.
Ike acknowledged steps taken toward reform, expansion and repositioning of the sector but warned that significant challenges persist, including inadequate funding, infrastructure deficits, frequent strikes and disruptions, high numbers of out-of-school children, learning poverty, unequal access, and a weak alignment between education and the modern economy.
“At the same time, we must recognize that reform is a process, and no government can solve decades of structural weakness in a short time,” she said, adding that sustained commitment and genuine political will are what will ultimately determine success.
The NUJ leader called on journalists to play an active role in the reform process by reporting education issues with accuracy, balance and depth, amplifying the voices of teachers, students, parents and administrators, and using media platforms to push for policies that improve learning outcomes and hold authorities accountable.
Ike also broadened the discussion beyond classroom metrics, saying education underpins national productivity, social stability, innovation and human dignity.
She urged participants to use the summit to offer constructive recommendations and practical steps for improving Nigeria’s education system, rather than delivering mere rhetoric.
She closed by thanking the Education Correspondents of Nigeria, congratulating the event’s organizers and participants, and expressing hope that the summit’s deliberations would contribute to a stronger and more inclusive education system.
“Let this not be just another event with fine speeches, but a meaningful conversation that contributes to real change in Nigeria’s education sector,” she said.
This is as the Minister of Education disclosed Government’s plans to conduct a comprehensive nationwide household survey to determine the actual number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, acknowledging that existing estimates no longer accurately reflect the situation.
Dr. Tunji Alausa at the 2026 Annual Education Summit of the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) in Abuja said the Federal Ministry of Education would partner with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to generate credible data that would guide education policies and interventions across the country.
According to the minister, the widely cited estimates of between 15 million and 20 million out-of-school children require updating, stressing that the government is committed to replacing assumptions with reliable, evidence-based statistics.
Alausa explained that the nationwide survey would provide a clearer picture of the scale and distribution of the problem, enabling authorities to design targeted programmes to improve access to education.
He revealed that the government had returned more than one million out-of-school children to classrooms over the past two years but emphasised that accurate data remained essential for measuring progress and addressing the challenge effectively.
The minister said President Bola Tinubu’s administration was committed to evidence-based policymaking, adding that reliable data would empower both citizens and the media to hold public officials accountable.
He urged journalists to move beyond routine event coverage by embracing investigative reporting that identifies gaps in the education sector and monitors government performance through verifiable facts.
