Minister blames poor use of data for failed education interventions
May 14, 2026 2:07 pm
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa. Credit: X | Maruf Tunji Alausa
By Gift Habib
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The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Alausa, on Thursday, criticised years of education spending by development partners in parts of Nigeria, describing much of the investment as ineffective due to poor use of data in planning and monitoring outcomes.
Speaking at the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure National Stakeholders Meeting in Abuja, the minister stated that nearly 80 per cent of education-related development financing over the past decade had been concentrated in two geopolitical zones, which have some of the country’s lowest literacy and numeracy levels.
“As we look at our data, about 80 per cent of development bank financing and development partners’ investments over the last 10 years have gone to two geopolitical zones in the country.
“And those two zones have the lowest literacy and numeracy rates in the country. So, it is like a wasted investment,” Alausa stated.
The minister stated that the government was now relying on NEDI to ensure future interventions are guided by measurable outcomes rather than assumptions.
He revealed that he recently challenged the World Bank over the effectiveness of previous interventions in the education sector.
“I met with the World Bank country director yesterday. I said, ‘We are throwing billions into zones as though we are achieving something. What are you looking at? Don’t you look at the outcomes?’” he said.
According to him, the World Bank responded that it had shifted toward “result-based and outcome-based funding,” a move he described as necessary for improving accountability.
“But then, if we had used data before, we would have known. We would know where the investment needs to go. And as we make those investments, are we getting the outcomes we need?” he stated.
Alausa said the newly developed education data infrastructure would allow governments at all levels to make evidence-based decisions on budgeting, school infrastructure, teacher deployment and student performance.
“So, data is everything, and we have to be at the forefront of it. We have to drive the economy through evidence-based planning and evidence-based governance. You plan, you intervene, and you monitor outcomes,” he said.
The minister described NEDI as a “single source of truth” for the country’s education sector, noting that education records in Nigeria were previously fragmented and unreliable.
“NEDI will now be the single source of truth because, two or two-and-a-half years ago, all our educational data was fragmented,” the minister noted.
He added that the platform would provide detailed information on schools nationwide, including enrolment figures, infrastructure, teacher qualifications and learning facilities.
The minister also said the government plans to integrate artificial intelligence into the system to improve accessibility and analysis of education data.
No fewer than 32 million students have so far been captured under NEDI, a centralised platform designed to transform data management across the country’s education system.
The data currently spans over 220,000 schools across 21 states.
The NEDI platform is being developed as a comprehensive repository to support the collection, storage and retrieval of data from basic to tertiary levels.
As part of its framework, the platform integrates datasets from key education agencies and bodies, including the Universal Basic Education Commission, the National Education Management Information System Annual School Census, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Examination bodies, such as the West African Examinations Council, the National Examinations Council, and the National Business and Technical Examinations Board, are also expected to contribute to the system.
A central feature of the initiative is the introduction of a National Learner Identity Number, which will assign a unique identifier to each student throughout their academic journey, ensuring continuity and accuracy in record-keeping.
This development followed the Federal Government’s inauguration of a 25-member committee on January 27, 2025, to oversee the establishment of NEDI and develop a harmonised, centralised databank.
Gift Habib is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over five years of experience reporting on foreign affairs, elections, security, and related issues. She specializes in covering complex political and security developments, providing context and clarity for readers. Her work reflects extensive newsroom experience and a strong commitment to accurate, insightful, and trustworthy journalism.
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