UNESCO, Alausa Deepen Partnership to Drive Tinubu’s Education Reforms

Alausa, UNESCO Deepen Partnership as FG Returns Over 1m Out-of-School Children to Class

Hope Ajayi September 8, 2026 2 minutes read

ABUJA, Nigeria – The Federal Government has strengthened its partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to accelerate ongoing education reforms, with Education Minister, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, revealing that more than one million out-of-school children have returned to classrooms within the last 20 months.

Alausa disclosed this in Abuja while receiving the newly appointed UNESCO Country Representative to Nigeria, Prof. Isaiah Barreto Da Rosa, during a courtesy visit focused on expanding collaboration in teacher development, technical education, digital learning and school access.

The minister said President Bola Tinubu’s education transformation agenda is anchored on six strategic priorities: Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), reintegration of out-of-school children, education data and digitalisation, girl-child education and quality assurance.

According to him, nearly 6.7 million girls have also benefited from programmes designed to improve school enrolment and retention.

While acknowledging progress in girl-child education, Alausa stressed the need for a more inclusive approach that equally addresses challenges affecting boys.

“Our goal is to ensure no Nigerian child is left behind. We must sustain the gains in girl-child education while paying greater attention to the educational needs of boys,” he said.

The minister also highlighted the Ministry’s Accelerated Teacher Professional Programme, aimed at training one million serving teachers nationwide, and welcomed UNESCO’s continued technical support in teacher development, TVET assessment, digital transformation, peace education and media literacy.

Speaking earlier, UNESCO Country Representative, Prof. Da Rosa, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s education reforms through technical expertise.

According to him, UNESCO-backed programmes have trained more than 28,000 teachers across Nigeria while reaching over 1.7 million learners, adding that the agency remains ready to expand collaboration in areas identified by the Federal Government.