Nigeria’s federal government is to carry out a nationwide household survey to establish the true number of children who are out of school, in a move officials say will replace years of uncertain estimates with more reliable data for education planning.
The minister of education, Tunji Alausa, announced the initiative on Wednesday at the 2026 annual education summit organised by the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) in Abuja, acknowledging that the figures commonly cited in public debate no longer accurately reflect the scale of the crisis.
Alausa said the federal ministry of education would work with the National Bureau of Statistics to conduct a comprehensive household survey aimed at producing credible, evidence-based data to guide policy decisions and interventions.
“The estimates we have today need updating,” the minister said, adding that the survey would provide a clearer understanding of both the size and geographical distribution of the problem, enabling the government to target resources more effectively.
Nigeria has for years been regarded as having one of the world’s largest populations of out-of-school children, with previous estimates ranging from 15 million to about 20 million. The issue remains one of the country’s most pressing development challenges, driven by poverty, insecurity, child labour, early marriage, inadequate school infrastructure, conflict-induced displacement and limited access to quality education, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
Alausa said the Tinubu administration had returned more than one million out-of-school children to classrooms over the past two years but argued that measuring progress required dependable statistics rather than assumptions.
He said President Bola Tinubu’s government was committed to evidence-based policymaking and urged journalists to make greater use of official data to hold public institutions accountable.
The minister called on the media to move beyond reporting official events and instead pursue investigative journalism that scrutinises government performance and exposes persistent gaps in the education system.
“Quality journalism backed by credible data strengthens accountability and ultimately improves education outcomes,” he said.
Alausa also highlighted reforms being pursued under the administration’s Renewed Hope agenda, including expanded technical and vocational education and training, greater emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), digital transformation, improved quality assurance, stronger education governance and wider access to schooling.
He said Nigeria had recorded three consecutive years without disruptions to academic activities across universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, attributing the relative stability to sustained engagement with tertiary education unions.
The minister also said Nigeria now has 24 universities ranked among the world’s top 1,000 institutions, up from 21 previously, with public universities occupying the country’s top four positions.
The summit, themed Three Years of the Tinubu Administration: Assessing Reforms, Progress and Challenges in Nigeria’s Education Sector, brought together policymakers, education experts, journalists and other stakeholders to assess the government’s record and the challenges that remain.
The minister of state for education, Suwaiba Ahmad, urged journalists to support reforms through balanced and responsible reporting, describing education as central to economic growth, democratic development, poverty reduction and social cohesion.
The executive secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission, Aisha Garba, reiterated the agency’s commitment to ensuring universal access to quality basic education.
“The most important objective is that no child should be left behind,” she said. “Regardless of background, location or income level, every child must have access to quality education.”
Grace Ike, chair of the Nigeria Union of Journalists’ Federal Capital Territory council, called for stronger collaboration among government, parents, educators, policymakers and the media to confront the structural challenges facing the education sector.
The education minister’s special adviser on media and communication, Ikharo Attah, also advocated evidence-led journalism, arguing that public debate should be shaped by verified facts rather than speculation.
Earlier, ECAN chair Chuks Ukwauta said the summit had been convened to examine the achievements, reforms and outstanding challenges of the education sector during the first three years of the Tinubu administration.
While successive governments have introduced programmes aimed at reducing the number of out-of-school children, the absence of consistently reliable national data has complicated efforts to measure progress. Officials hope the proposed household survey will provide the statistical foundation for more effective interventions and a clearer assessment of one of Nigeria’s most persistent education challenges.
