With Nigeria’s over 230 million citizens under the age of 25, experts have harped on the need to equip the youth population with marketable skills to create a globally competitive workforce. Stakeholders have commended the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa’s position on educational reforms aimed at equipping students with the practical skills and opportunities that will enable them to compete globally, describing it as a step in the right direction, ASSISTANT EDITOR BOLA OLAJUWON and VICTORIA AMADI report.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has embarked on a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s education system since he took over the ministry, moving from the traditional structure towards a skills-focused curriculum and a sustainable education model.
A major part of the reforms is the restructuring of the national curriculum for basic, senior secondary and technical education, which commenced this academic year.
The ministry had also added new vocational and trade subjects to the curriculum, including digital literacy, solar installation, agricultural entrepreneurship, and garment making. This is intended to entrench practical skills from an early age and prepare students for the demands of the modern job market.
According to the minister, the total number of subjects a student would offer would be streamlined across different grade levels to reduce “content overload” and enable deeper learning.
The government has converted federal science and technical colleges into modern technical colleges. This includes free tuition and stipends for students, with a curriculum that is 80 per cent practical and 20 per cent theoretical.
Alausa has also emphasised the need for ongoing education reforms to move beyond policy declarations and deliver practical outcomes that strengthen skills, innovation, and job creation among young people.
According to him, the ultimate goal of the reforms is to ensure that students are not only educated but also equipped with the competencies required to thrive in a fast-changing global economy.
He explained that the Federal Government was working to align education with the needs of the labour market through curriculum review, improved teacher training, and investment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.
The minister, at the National Education Group (NEG) Meeting in Abuja, noted that the future of the country depended on how well its education system produced citizens capable of critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation.
Alausa said: “Our reforms must go beyond the paperwork of policy; they must impact classrooms, teachers, and ultimately the learners. Education should not end with certificates but open doors to creativity, productivity, and prosperity.”
According to him, the ministry is prioritising partnerships with the private sector and development agencies to expand opportunities for technical and vocational education, research, and digital learning.
“If we are to build a competitive economy, we must invest in the skills and knowledge base of our young people so that they can become drivers of innovation and entrepreneurship,” he added.
The NEG Meeting brought together key stakeholders in the sector, including policymakers, education administrators, academics, and development partners, to deliberate on strategies for improving education delivery and learning outcomes across all levels.
Participants also reviewed implementation progress on existing policies and explored sustainable models for financing and accountability in the education sector.
During the meeting, the minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to inclusive and equitable education, assuring that reforms would focus on improving access, quality, and relevance to meet the aspirations of a growing youth population.
He added that education remained the foundation of national prosperity, urging all stakeholders to work collaboratively to ensure that reforms produced tangible benefits for learners and the nation as a whole.
CONUA: There is need for funding consistency, adjustment for local realities
The President of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA), Mr. Niyi Sunmonu, hailed the minister’s position, describing it as a commendable step in the right direction.
Sunmonu noted that the minister’s emphasis on practical outcomes, skills development, and innovation aligns well with global trends in education reform.
However, for these reforms to deliver the intended impact, the CONUA boss stressed that a few key considerations must guide implementation.
Reiterating that the policy direction is a sound one, the CONUA’s boss advised that it must be followed through with consistency and must be adjusted for local realities as implementation unfolds. He added that the lessons from each stage of execution should inform adaptive planning, a feedback mechanism that ensures reforms remain relevant and effective.
He advised that funding stability is crucial to achieve this. He added that education reforms often collapse not because they lack vision, but because they lack consistent financial backing. He advised that the Federal Government should establish a predictable and ring-fenced funding mechanism supported by both public and private sector contributions. This, he said, would guarantee continuity and prevent reform fatigue.
Sunmonu also advised that reforms should not be abandoned mid-stream, as being done previously due to administrative transitions or political changes.
“Institutional continuity should be built into the reform framework, ensuring that every new administration inherits an ongoing national agenda rather than starting afresh,” he said.
He also called for a robust, transparent and accountable structure to underpin the process.
“Regular progress audits, independent evaluations, and citizen-accessible reporting dashboards should be introduced to track performance and maintain public trust,” he added.
Drawing from international best practices, the union’s boss called for the integration of the following: Public – Private Partnerships (PPP) for technical and vocational education, as seen in Singapore and Germany, industry-aligned curriculum design, ensuring that employers and innovators co-create learning modules, digital integration at all levels of education, not as a luxury but as a necessity for inclusion and global competitiveness, teacher professional development as a continuous process, linked to certification and incentives and outcome-based monitoring where focus shifts from input (funds spent, teachers hired) to measurable impact (skills gained, jobs created and innovations birthed).
“Ultimately, these reforms will only succeed if driven by political will, institutional discipline, and a shared national commitment to education as the foundation of sustainable development,” Sunmonu, commended.
There must be enough energy to drive the reform, says activist
An education activist, Mr. Emmanuel Orji, in an interview with The Nation, noted that the reforms in the education sector work when there is enough energy to drive it. He added that the energy with which the present administration seeks change is high, hence the need for funds, human capital and other resources required for it.
Orji stressed that the focus on aligning education with the labour market’s needs, curriculum review, teacher training, and STEM education is a step in the right direction.
He reaffirmed that partnerships with the private sector and development agencies will also help expand opportunities for technical and vocational education, research and digital learning.
Orji further reiterated that the future of Nigeria depends on a well-functioning education system that produces citizens capable of critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation.
“I sincerely commend the Minister of Education for emphasising the need for practical outcomes in the ongoing education reforms. Equipping students with skills and opportunities is crucial for their success in a fast-changing global economy.
“I agree that education should not end with certificates, but rather open doors to creativity, productivity, and prosperity. The government’s commitment to inclusive and equitable education is reassuring, and I urge all stakeholders to work collaboratively to ensure that reforms produce tangible benefits for learners and the nation.
“I’m confident that these reforms will bring about innovation, entrepreneurship, and national prosperity,” he said.
ASUP-Imopoly Chairman: minister’s position is on the right track
According to the Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics Imo State Polytechnic (ASUP-Imopoly) Julius Chigozie Offurum, the minister’s position is on the right track. He opined that the country is, at the moment, in a displaced state, leading into retrogression, backwardness and underdevelopment.
Offurum noted that the level of progress made by a country is dependent on the level of educational and skillful engagements of her citizens.
The Imopoly ASUP head affirmed that the minister recognises the essential roles that technological skills play in the nation’s development, which polytechnic and technological education propagates. He stated that until the country assuages its larger work force from paper (certificate) carrying graduates to Graduate Attribute and Professional Competence (GAPC) workers, its developmental backwardness may continue to deepen more and more.
Offurum buttressed that the voting choices of voters, plays a huge role in a nation’s overall development, hence the need to make the right choice of candidate.
“To get it right in this regard, generalisation of elections of people into public offices should be stopped, in order to disallow ill-mannered brains from participating in the voting process. There should be establishment of electoral colleges that would train and certify eligible voters during general elections, not allowing voting rights in the hands of hungry illiterates that are ready to sell their votes for five cups of rice.
“Once good people are voted into power, by good brains, good laws/policies would be made, that would revamp the ethos of our nation. Except reasonable people are in power, the quest for revitalisation of our educational sector, vis-a-vis the economy of our nation, including Alausa’s desires/pronouncements, will continue to be in the hands of God Almighty alone,” he noted.
These are beautiful ideas, says Abia State University ASUU Chairman
Abia State University, ASUU Chairman, Mr. Isaac Udoh, said: “These are beautiful ideas. But, is this not Nigeria? A lot of talk with minimal implementation. From where we are sitting, these conferences, seminars and what not will fetch a set of people money. Forgive my cynicism, but Nigeria is not good at causing programmes to leave drawing boards.”
