Tunji Alausa and a Legacy of Educational Reforms, ,

The first sign of a real change in Nigeria’s education ministry wasn’t a policy paper. Instead, it was a simpler school bag. Suddenly, primary pupils had fewer subjects to carry.

Dr. Tunji Alausa, a nephrologist turned Minister of Education, took office in October 2024. His approach is clinical and data-driven. He leads the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), a six-pillar plan to overhaul a struggling system.

His first major move was a dramatic curriculum pruning. For the 2025/26 year, primary subjects dropped from over twenty to just six or nine. The new focus is on practical skills like solar installation and digital literacy.

Alausa is also pushing a structural recalibration: shifting from the old 6-3-3-4 system to a 12-year basic education model. The goal is to keep children in school until at least age 16, directly tackling dropout rates.

Meanwhile, his ministry ended the 16-year ASUU strike in December 2025. The resolution included a 40% salary increase for university staff. This alone marked a significant departure from the perpetual crisis of previous administrations.

Accountability is another keystone. Alausa mandated all tertiary institutions to publish their finances online. He also launched a national student database, tracking each child from primary school onward using their National Identity Number (NIN).

His strategy shows a clear nexus between health and education policy. A doctor by training, he treats systemic failure like a chronic condition, prescribing data tracking, simplified inputs, and measurable skill outputs.

The minister’s background is unconventional for the role, but it may be to his advantage. He approaches Nigeria’s education malaise not as a lifelong pedagogue, but as a diagnostician. For him, the most important test score is not on a child’s exam sheet, but on the nation’s future skills dashboard.

, Education – THISDAYLIVE, January 12, 2026, 3:00 am