Since Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, assumed office in October 2024, he has rolled out reform after reform with bold headlines: nationwide CBT for national examinations, removal of unqualified teachers, a new curriculum, and, most recently, a directive warning schools to employ certified teachers or lose WAEC accreditation.
On paper, these moves suggest a long-awaited modernisation of Nigeria’s education system. In practice, they have been followed by public outcry, confusion, and hurried clarifications that reveal a lack of preparation. The result is a widening gap between policy announcements and on-ground realities—a gap that raises a crucial question: are these reforms educational in intent or largely political in execution?
“Teachers who are non-education graduates but possess at least 12 months of classroom teaching experience can enrol for the abridged professional certification programme (3 months and 6 months) offered through the National Teachers Institute (NTI) to qualify.”
When announcements outrun action
Education reform cannot thrive on pronouncements alone. It requires systems, preparation, and accountability. Yet Nigeria’s current approach often begins with announcements that outpace reality.
Take the recent teacher certification directive. Secondary schools are expected to meet 75 percent compliance with certified teachers by 2026 and 100 percent by 2027 or lose their WAEC certification. Teachers who are non-education graduates but possess at least 12 months of classroom teaching experience can enrol for the abridged professional certification programme (3 months and 6 months) offered through the National Teachers Institute (NTI) to qualify.
In reality:
- Teachers report difficulty accessing reliable information on these courses.
- Certification costs are out of reach for many teachers, given their low income.
- The compliance timeline (2-year amnesty) is already ticking down, but the support structures are not in place.
This “announce first, plan later” pattern undermines confidence. Without rollout frameworks, financing strategies, and meaningful stakeholder engagement, such reforms risk collapsing under their own weight before they even begin.
Non-state schools under strain
For Nigeria’s vast non-state education sector, which serves millions of children, the stakes are even higher. School owners/leaders highlight pressing challenges:
- The 2026 CBT mandate for WAEC exams, which many schools are ill-equipped to meet.
- Shortages of qualified teachers in critical subjects, even in urban centres like Lagos.
- Escalating costs of school spaces.
- Unattractive loan conditions for expansion.
- Harassment and multiple taxes, levies, and fees from government agencies.
Some proprietors are already closing schools, converting buildings into residential apartments. Unless reforms take these realities into account, Nigeria risks increasing, not reducing, its already alarming number of out-of-school children.
Lessons from similar contexts
Nigeria is not the first country to confront the complexities of education reform.
- In Kenya, the rollout of the competency-based curriculum faced significant resistance until the government invested in large-scale teacher training, financial support, and community engagement.
- In Ghana, teacher licensing reforms succeeded because they were phased in with strong communication and collaboration with stakeholders.
These examples show that ambitious reforms can succeed in resource-constrained environments, but only with preparation, inclusivity, and a phased approach.
A call to action
Nigeria urgently needs reform. No one disputes that. But reforms must be rooted in realism. That means:
Systems: Clear frameworks, costed plans, and monitoring mechanisms.
Support: Financial and professional backing for teachers and schools, especially in underserved communities.
Stakeholders: Genuine engagement with parents, teachers, school leaders and other education ecosystem players.
Without these, reforms risk becoming political theatre rather than genuine transformation. Nigeria’s children deserve more than quickfire reforms. They deserve policies anchored in their lived experiences, not just the optics of modernisation. The true test of these reforms is not in the boldness of headlines but in whether they deliver real progress in classrooms across the country.
The burden is now on the government to show that these policies are more than “politics dressed as education”. Civil society, school leaders, parents, and the media must keep asking the hard questions and demanding accountability.
Nigeria is in a state of emergency in education that demands seriousness with all hands on deck. Real reform will be judged not by the boldness of announcements, but by the courage to prepare, to listen, and to deliver.
About the author:
Olanrewaju Oniyitan is the Founder/Executive Director of SEED Care & Support Foundation, a non-profit advancing access to quality education for underserved children by supporting affordable non-state schools through advocacy, evidence, and a learning network (www.seedfoundation.ng). She is also the CEO of W-Holistic Business Solutions, a development advisory firm (www.w-hbs.com), and a passionate advocate for grassroots education reform.
