The Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, has reaffirmed the commitment of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to expanding non-formal education as a strategic tool for job creation, youth empowerment and the reduction of out-of-school children across Nigeria.
Ikharo Attah, Special Adviser (Media and Communications) to the Honourable Minister Of Education disclosed this in a Statement made available to TV360.
Alausa made the remarks during a special plenary session at the ongoing Education World Forum in London, moderated by Prince Edward.
Other panelists at the session included Paul Calandra, Secretary of State for Education in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Raquel Teixeira, and International Youth Representative of the Duke of Edinburgh International Award Foundation, Andrea Chakma.
The session focused on the role of non-formal education, soft skills development and industry collaboration in improving employability and individual wellbeing.
Speaking during the plenary, the minister said the Federal Government was implementing a broad range of informal education initiatives aimed at addressing literacy gaps and equipping vulnerable populations with vocational and technical skills.
“What we are doing in Nigeria is because we have a lot of out-of-school children; we have to find a way that we can quickly get them a kind of non-formal education,” Alausa said.
According to him, the government has introduced an Accelerated Basic Education Programme specifically designed to bridge learning gaps among out-of-school children and align them with formal education standards.
“We’ve created a separate curriculum for them called accelerated basic education programme, which ties them to what they should be learning in school,” he stated.
The minister noted that the government was also placing strong emphasis on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to provide practical skills for young Nigerians.
“We’ve heavily focused on technical vocational education, which is still a form of formal education but in a non-formal setting to give people that have gone to school other skill sets that they can use to benefit themselves and their communities,” he added.
Alausa explained that the ministry was integrating entrepreneurial and digital skills into existing educational programmes to prepare young people for future opportunities.
“We have also now infused what we call entrepreneurial training in these kids. Whatever level of courses they are studying, they go through our entrepreneurship, innovation and business certification to equip them with the skills they need to function and do things differently,” he said.
He added that the government was equally investing in digital literacy programmes to equip youths with technology-driven skills relevant to the modern economy.
Among the initiatives highlighted by the minister were the Federal Ministry of Education’s tuition-free TVET programme, the National Policy on Skills Development, and mass literacy and adult education programmes targeted at underserved communities.
He also referenced the Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education Programme, which integrates traditional Quranic education with vocational and basic literacy training.
“The whole goal of what we are doing here is to really get them the skills — skills for the present and skills for the future,” the minister said.
Alausa further commended the Duke of Edinburgh for his visit to Nigeria in November 2025 and noted that Nigeria remains an active participant in the Duke of Edinburgh International Award Foundation.
The Education World Forum is one of the world’s largest annual gatherings of education ministers and policymakers, bringing together stakeholders to discuss global education reforms and innovation.
