Education
What we Expect in 2024 — ASUU, NANS, Ex-minister
Key education stakeholders say government at national and sub-national levels must give the much needed attention and show sincere commitment to the development of the education sector, to make necessary impact in 2024.
The stakeholders spoke against the backdrop of events that shaped the sector in the outgoing year, and expectations for the New Year.
Prof.
Emmanuel Osodeke, National President, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), said that no significant change was recorded in the sector in 2023.He noted that a lot of political will was needed to turn the sector around, for the country to attain the much desired accelerated growth and development.
“Honestly, I will say nothing significant actually changed in the entire sector during the year under review. It is practically nothing close to what we want, especially as it concerns budgetary allocation.
“It is not different from what we used to have in the the past eight years. It is not getting any better. Just look at the amount that was allocated to the sector this year. Does it show we seriously want transformation?.
“The budget proposed, which was 8.8 per cent, still fell short of the global education agency, UNESCO’s recommended 26 per cent expenditure on the sector.
“Away from the budget, we are all witness to the poor education environment, infrastructure, little or non-existing instructional materials across board, poor remuneration for workers in the sector and of course the much talked about funding.
“Oftentimes, these budgets, when passed, are hardly properly implemented. I hope we look at the sector holistically and x-ray the areas of concern in a bid to proffer solutions to them for a better Nigeria,” the ASUU leader said.
He said that it was time the country started looking inward, by taking its destiny in its hands, as no foreigner was in a position to do so.
The don urged the federal government to ‘walk the talk’ by ensuring that funds voted for key projects in the sector were implemented in a bid to achieve desired results.
“I want to say I like what some state governments have just done in terms of budget allocation for the sector in the coming year.
“It means we are gradually coming to terms on the place of education in nation building.
“States, like Enugu for instance has passed a 33 per cent budget in education in the state, and I will like to say this is historic. Abia and Oyo both passed 20 and 21 per cent respectively and I want to say this will be highly commendable, if implemented.
“These three state governments must be appreciated, if they implement these budgets as expected, as this is the way to go and also hope the Federal Government takes a cue from them.
“Like I mentioned earlier, we have what it takes to solve our problems all by ourselves as a people, and not foreigners.
“We must stop running to the western world for one favour or the other, look inward and in doing so, education should be our top priority,” Osodeke said.
On his part, Mr Akinteye Afeez, Senate President, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), said that education in 2023 had not fared as well as it ought to have done.
According to him, the sector is still the same, grappling with so many avoidable issues.
“Education has not done any better than we used to have it .There is still no remarkable improvement in the sector as a whole; it has not changed from what obtained in previous years.
“We just hope the policies of government as promised in 2024 will kickstart in earnest. Example is the CNG buses promised by the Federal Government, bursaries and increment in the education budget.
“We hope we have also really said goodbye to ASUU strikes and hope for better years ahead. But as far as we are concerned, education in the year under review did not fare well,” Afeez stated.
A one-time Minister of Education, Prof. Chinwe Obaji, on her part, urged the Federal Government to pay more attention to the activities of some private and government- owned institutions in the country.
According to her, there is the need for government to intensity its monitoring, supervision and evaluation efforts in schools across all levels in the country, in a bid to achieve quality products.
She added that such measure, if carried out, would also check the exploitative tendencies often witnessed, especially in most private secondary schools.
“I think government must step up efforts in beaming its searchlights in the schools, especially the private-owned secondary schools where some teachers and management rip parents off their hard earned money in the name of carrying out one academic task or the other.
“Some parents have been coming up with several complaints concerning the outrageous demands made by some of these private schools.
“ The most worrisome of them is the outrageous fees these schools tend to quote for these parents as amount meant for the registration of public examinations such as the Senior School Certificate Examination by NECO and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) by WAEC.
“These fees tend to be a far cry from the standard fees fixed by the two examination bodies.
“In the same vein, such light must also be beamed on some public schools, where it has been discovered that some teachers abandon their line of duties to engage in petty trade or other things.
“There must seem to be that passion, dedication and discipline on the side of school administrators as well, not just government alone.
“All hands must be on deck to take the sector to the much-desired height,” the former minister said. (NAN)
The Federal Government has introduced a National Textbook Ranking System for Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary Schools nationwide as part of efforts to strengthen quality assurance and standardisation in the education sector.
Minister of Education, Dr.
Tunji Alausa, disclosed this in a statement by Folasade Boriowo, Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, on Monday in Abuja.Alausa said that the initiative would address the proliferation of textbooks in schools and ensure that only high-quality, curriculum-compliant learning materials were approved for classroom use.
The minister explained that under the new system, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) would retain its statutory responsibility for approving textbooks for Nigerian schools.
Beyond the approval, Alausa said textbooks would now undergo a structured national evaluation process with NERDC ranking to determine the most suitable and highest-quality options for each subject and level of education.
He added that NERDC would establish Standing Subject Committees made up of experts in relevant disciplines to conduct rigorous reviews of textbooks submitted by publishers.
He noted that the committees would assess the materials based on clearly defined academic and pedagogical standards before ranking and approving a limited number of textbooks for classroom use.
According to him, the reform is expected to reduce the excessive number of textbooks currently in circulation, which has often created confusion for teachers, students and parents.
“The ranking system will introduce transparency, order and quality assurance into the textbook approval process while aligning Nigeria’s education system with international best practices in instructional material standardisation,” he said.
Alausa added that any textbook not ranked under the new system would no longer be permitted for use in Nigerian schools, regardless of prior licensing status.
He said that the federal government would engage teachers and other stakeholders to ensure adequate awareness and compliance with the new policy framework.
He said the implementation of the new ranking system would start from the September academic session following the establishment of the Standing Subject Committees and completion of the evaluation framework.
The Federal Government has commenced a comprehensive review of agricultural curricula in polytechnics and colleges of education to address widening skills gaps and revive youth interest in agriculture.
The Chairman of the Agriculture Curriculum Review Implementation Committee, Prof.
Idris Bugaje, disclosed this at a two-day national workshop on agricultural curriculum review on Monday in Abuja.Bugaje, who is also the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), said many agricultural programmes had remained unchanged for more than 15 years.
He said the outdated curricula had become unattractive to young Nigerians and misaligned with industry needs.
According to him, the review will cover all 33 National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) agricultural curricula, alongside more than 32 National Occupational Standards.
Bugaje said past funding for curriculum review was grossly inadequate.
He noted that about N50 million was previously allocated annually to review over 320 curricula and more than 100 occupational standards nationwide.
“The work before this committee is critical because agriculture remains the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy.
“It employs a large number of Nigerians and contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Unfortunately, admissions into agricultural programmes have been declining because the curricula are no longer attractive or responsive to current realities,” he said.
Bugaje added that the review would prioritise practical, industry-driven training rather than purely academic content.
He said private sector participation would be strengthened to ensure graduates acquire relevant skills aligned with modern agriculture and global best practices.
The NBTE boss said four thematic groups covering crops and agronomy, livestock, fisheries, and forestry would develop implementation timelines.
He added that the groups would also recommend industry resource persons for the exercise.
Bugaje noted that undergraduate agricultural programmes under the National Universities Commission (NUC) would not be reviewed immediately.
He said this was in line with the commission’s five-year curriculum review cycle.
He added that the exercise would instead focus on programmes supervised by NBTE and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).
Bugaje commended the Ministers of Education, the Minister of State for Agriculture, and the Minister of Livestock Development for their collaboration.
He said their efforts facilitated the establishment of the committee.
The Executive Secretary of NCCE, Dr. Angela Ajala, said Nigeria must urgently shift agricultural education from theory to hands-on practice.
Ajala said this was necessary to address manpower shortages in extension services and specialised farm operations.
She said the decline in trained agricultural extension officers and technical experts underscored the need for a forward-looking curriculum.
“If Nigeria must secure its agricultural future, training must move from classroom theory to practical competence,” she said.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Dr. Abubakar Dabban, said the council was committed to producing industry-ready graduates.
Dabban, represented by Dr. Oluwafemi Salako, Director of the Plant Resources Department, said the council would provide technical support for the exercise.
He said ARCN supervised 19 national agricultural research institutes and 17 federal colleges of agriculture.
He added that the council would strengthen research, training, and extension linkages.
An international expert representing the Sector Skills Council for Agriculture, Pascal Durand-Carrier, said ongoing skills-gap surveys would support the review.
Durand-Carrier said the surveys were being conducted in collaboration with international partners.
He said the effort would help align training with labour market demands and strengthen collaboration between academia and industry.
Participants at the workshop expressed optimism that the review would produce modern, market-driven curricula.
They said the outcome would attract young Nigerians to agriculture and enhance national food security.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has announced a slight adjustment to the arrival time for candidates sitting the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, particularly those scheduled for the first session.
In a notice issued via its official X handle on Monday, the board stated that candidates for the first session are now expected to arrive at their examination centres by 7:00 a.
m. , instead of the earlier scheduled 6:30 a.m.JAMB added that the examination will commence at 8:30 a.m. and end at 10:30 a.m.
“Attention 2026 UTME Candidates: This is to notify you of a slight adjustment to the arrival scheduled time, particularly for the first session, which is now 7:00am as against the earlier published 6:30am, while the scheduled start time for the session is now 8:30 am and end time 10:30 am,” the notice read.
The board also clarified that candidates are not required to reprint their examination slips following the adjustment.
The full daily timetable, as shared by JAMB, includes four sessions running from Monday to Friday, with adjusted timings across all batches to ensure smoother operations at Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide.
This adjustment comes in response to long-standing feedback from candidates and parents regarding the challenges of very early morning travel, including safety concerns on roads before dawn and logistical difficulties for those coming from distant locations.
The UTME is scheduled to be held from Thursday, April 16, to Saturday, April 25, 2026.
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