The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has directed coordinators of the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) to take greater ownership of their assignments, sustain the momentum of ongoing reforms and ensure that outstanding commitments are translated into measurable improvements across Nigeria’s education sector.
The Minister gave the directive on Friday during the Ministerial Deliverables Meeting on NESRI in Abuja, where officials reviewed progress made over the past six months since the initiative’s retreat in February and agreed on measures to strengthen implementation of the Federal Government’s education reform agenda.
The meeting focused on verifying completed deliverables, reviewing pending assignments and the challenges delaying them, setting timelines for outstanding tasks and identifying additional priorities requiring the Ministry’s attention.
Officials examined reported completed assignments to determine whether they had been fully implemented, with the Minister insisting that deliverables should only be considered complete when they have achieved their intended objectives rather than reaching partial milestones.
The review also assessed pending tasks, with programme coordinators and responsible officials required to identify implementation bottlenecks and propose practical solutions to accelerate delivery.
To improve accountability, the meeting agreed that realistic completion timelines would be established for outstanding deliverables, while officials responsible for each assignment would be held accountable for meeting agreed targets.
Speaking at the meeting, Alausa said the exercise was intended to provide an honest assessment of progress rather than celebrate achievements.
“Today is not about celebrating what we have done and going home. It is about looking at what we have done, what remains to be done and how we can finish what we have started,” he said.
The Minister commended officials for their efforts in advancing the education sector renewal agenda, noting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had demonstrated strong commitment to education by providing the support needed to drive reforms aimed at improving access, quality and relevance across the country’s education system.
According to him, the mandate of the Federal Ministry of Education is to ensure that every Nigerian child has access to quality education that equips them with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed.
He, however, cautioned officials against complacency, stressing that every milestone achieved should serve as a foundation for further progress.
Alausa said the NESRI reform programme covers critical areas including Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), tackling the out-of-school children challenge, girl-child education, quality assurance, data management and digitalisation.
He emphasised that the success of the Ministry’s reforms would ultimately be measured not by the number of programmes launched or meetings held, but by tangible improvements experienced by Nigerians in schools and across the education sector.
The Minister urged programme coordinators, directors and other officials to strengthen collaboration, maintain clear ownership of their responsibilities and remain focused on delivering measurable outcomes.
He reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to sustaining ongoing reforms and addressing emerging challenges in line with the Federal Government’s education agenda, with the goal of building an education system that provides every Nigerian child with opportunities to learn, acquire relevant skills and realise their full potential.
