By Ken Afor
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given approval for a comprehensive set of policies aimed at overhauling Nigeria’s education sector to enhance learning, skill development, increase enrolment, and ensure academic security for the nation’s children.
This was disclosed in a statement by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media Publicity on Thursday.
The initiatives, collectively dubbed DOTS, focus on four key areas: Data Repository, Out-of-School Children Education, Teacher Training & Development, and Skill Development & Acquisition.
According to the statement, under the Data Repository component, the government will conduct an extensive census to gather comprehensive data on all schools, teachers, students, infrastructure, and facilities across the country. This centralized database will guide interventions for teacher training, student support, and track progress through a dedicated portal accessible to federal, state, and local authorities.
To address the issue of out-of-school children, the Federal Ministry of Education will scale up existing programs that have already reached around 2 million beneficiaries. This effort aims to provide education and training opportunities for children who are currently not enrolled in formal schooling.
The policy also prioritizes teacher development, with plans to support and train educators in digital skills to facilitate technology integration in classrooms across all education levels.
Furthermore, President Tinubu approved the National Skills Framework, designed to equip Nigerian students with the requisite skills, knowledge, and values to become productive members of society and meet the evolving needs of the global economy. This framework aims to address skill gaps, quality of education, and unemployment concerns by ensuring that students acquire specific skill sets alongside general knowledge.
“Once fully implemented, these programs will succeed in resetting learning and connecting the ‘DOTS’ for significant improvement of the overall education system in Nigeria, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda,” said Ngelale.
