Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has showcased the successes recorded in the education sector under President Bola Tinubu, stating that they would impact generations to come. The minister spoke yesterday during a special roundtable session at the Education World Forum (EWF) in London, United Kingdom, where he engaged education ministers and global stakeholders on Nigeria's foundational learning reforms.
Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Initiatives
Speaking on Nigeria's Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) initiatives, the minister said the country had successfully unified foundational literacy delivery under a single national standard covering both formal and non-formal education systems. “We’re scaling RANA for Primary 1 to 3 and Teaching at the Right Level for Primary 4 to 6 across 15 states through the Universal Basic Education (UBEC). This uses structured lesson plans, weekly teacher coaching and regular assessments,” he said.
A statement by Special Adviser (Media and Communications) to the Minister, Ikharo Attah, quoted him as saying that the Accelerated Basic Education Programme (ABEP), developed by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, delivers the same foundational literacy and numeracy outcomes for out-of-school children and adolescents within three years.
State-Led Reforms and Measurable Outcomes
The minister highlighted several state-led reforms already delivering measurable outcomes, citing programmes such as EKOEXCEL, KwaraLEARN and BayelsaPRIME as examples of successful, 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.
Policy and Funding Reforms
On policy and funding reforms, Alausa said foundational literacy and numeracy now sit at the centre of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the National Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Programme. He disclosed that the Federal Government was finalising a National Policy on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy to provide a sustainable legal and institutional framework for reforms across federal, state and non-formal education systems.
