Every Nigerian child should have the opportunity to learn, develop useful skills and build a productive future.
But getting children into school is only part of the challenge. They must also be learning. Teachers need the support and tools to teach effectively, and what students learn must prepare them for the world they will enter.
Resetting education means building a system that focuses on learning, access and relevant skills.
We will focus on three things.
Education cannot be measured only by enrolment, classrooms built or examinations passed.
Children should acquire strong foundational skills in literacy and numeracy early enough to support everything else they will learn.
We will strengthen the measurement of learning outcomes so that parents, teachers, education managers and the government can see where children are learning, where they are falling behind and where intervention is needed.
The question will not simply be “Are our children in school?” It will also be “Are our children learning?”
Millions of Nigerian children remain outside the education system, with the challenge particularly severe in some parts of the country.
There will be no single national solution to a problem whose causes differ from one community to another.
We will work with states and communities to identify the barriers keeping children out of school and develop responses suited to those circumstances — including poverty, insecurity, distance, cultural factors and the economic pressures that cause families to withdraw children from education.
Getting a child into school is only the beginning. The goal is for that child to remain in school and learn.
Education should prepare Nigerians not only to pass examinations, but to participate successfully in the economy.
We will strengthen the connection between education, technical and vocational training, apprenticeships, tertiary institutions and the skills employers and entrepreneurs need.
Young Nigerians should have multiple credible routes into productive work — whether through university, technical education, vocational training, apprenticeships or entrepreneurship.
In Oyo State, the Makinde administration removed the ₦3,000 education levy in public secondary schools at the beginning of the administration, reducing a direct barrier to access for families.
That decision reflected a broader principle that the government should identify the obstacles preventing children from accessing education and remove those within its power to address.
The Reset Agenda will build on lessons from Oyo State while recognising that Nigeria’s education challenges differ across states and communities and require solutions appropriate to each context.
