The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has called for deeper collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to drive the education transformation agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Dr. Alausa made the call while receiving the newly appointed UNESCO Country Representative to Nigeria, Professor Isaiah Barreto Da Rosa, on a courtesy visit.
Discussions focused on strengthening cooperation in key areas of Nigeria’s education reform programme.
Highlighting progress under the Tinubu administration, the Minister disclosed that more than one million out-of-school children have returned to the classroom in the last 20 months.
He added that almost 6.7 million girls have benefited from interventions aimed at improving access to and retention in school.
While sustaining gains in girl-child education, Alausa, in a statement by Ikharo Attah, Special Adviser, Media and Communications, also advocated for a more balanced focus that also addresses the educational needs of boys, stressing that “Nigeria’s human capital development must leave no child behind.”
The Minister said the government’s reform programme is anchored on six priority areas:
1. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
2. STEM education
3. Reintegration of out-of-school children
4. Data and digitalisation
5. Girl-child education
6. Quality assurance
He noted that significant investments are being made in skills development, technology and teacher capacity, while reliable data is being used to identify needs, target interventions and measure outcomes.
On teacher development, Alausa welcomed UNESCO’s technical support and highlighted the Ministry’s Accelerated Teacher Professional Programme, which targets one million in-service teachers.
He also acknowledged UNESCO’s contributions to TVET assessment, digital transformation, education for peace, and media and information literacy.
“Partnerships will be most effective when they reinforce programmes and initiatives already established by the Nigerian Government,” he said.
The UNESCO Country Representative, Prof. Isaiah Barreto Da Rosa, reaffirmed UNESCO’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s reform efforts, describing the organisation as a technical partner ready to provide expertise in areas identified by the country.
He recalled UNESCO’s presence in Nigeria since the 1960s and highlighted its work in TVET, teacher development, education for peace, science, culture, communication and information.
Prof. Da Rosa commended the Ministry’s progress in digitising education data and expressed readiness to deepen cooperation in TVET, teacher capacity development and reintegration of out-of-school children.
He disclosed that UNESCO-supported programmes have trained more than 28,000 teachers across different states and reached over 1.7 million students, while its specialised institutes remain available to provide additional expertise.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment, Dr. Alausa assured the UNESCO Representative that the Ministry would continue to work closely with the organisation to deliver practical results under the President’s education reform agenda.
He stressed that the administration remains committed to mobilising domestic resources and leveraging strategic technical partnerships to improve access, strengthen quality, and equip both boys and girls with the knowledge and skills required for national development.