Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has identified limited access to education as Nigeria’s most pressing education challenge, saying the crisis is not simply about school enrolment but the inability of millions of children to progress through the education system.
Alausa made the remarks on Wednesday at the 2026 Annual Education Summit of the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) in Abuja.
The minister urged education journalists to move beyond routine event reporting and embrace investigative, data-driven journalism that would expose deficiencies in school infrastructure, teacher availability and learning conditions across the country.
He encouraged reporters to make use of the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure Management System (NEDIMS), describing it as a comprehensive platform containing detailed information on schools, teachers, classrooms and learning facilities nationwide.
According to Alausa, access to reliable education data would enable journalists and citizens to hold state governments and local government councils accountable for the quality of education in their jurisdictions.
“If you don’t use data, it is like you are flying blind. Without data, you cannot do anything,” he said.
“We want you journalists to go to the website and use that data to challenge governors and local government chairmen.
You can now know the teacher-to-classroom ratio, student-to-teacher ratio, student-to-classroom ratio and the facilities available down to the school level. This is using data for public good, and you are the mouthpiece of the nation.”
The minister said the availability of education data provides journalists with an opportunity to monitor government performance, identify gaps in the education sector and draw attention to areas requiring urgent intervention.
He stressed that quality journalism backed by credible and verifiable data would strengthen public accountability and contribute to improved education outcomes.
Alausa also described education as one of the most critical investments any nation can make, adding that the Tinubu administration has placed the sector at the centre of its Renewed Hope Agenda.
