Nigeria wasted billions on education without results — Minister

The Minister of Education, Maruf Alausa, on Thursday faulted years of education spending by development partners in parts of Nigeria, saying much of the funding produced little impact because of poor use of data in planning and evaluating results.

Speaking at the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure National Stakeholders Meeting in Abuja, the minister said almost 80 per cent of education-focused development financing over the last decade had been directed to two geopolitical zones with some of the lowest literacy and numeracy rates in the country.

“As we look at our data, about 80 per cent of development bank financing and development partners’ investments over the last 10 years have gone to two geopolitical zones in the country.

“And those two zones have the lowest literacy and numeracy rates in the country. So, it is like a wasted investment,” Alausa stated.

The minister explained that the government was now depending on the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI) to ensure future interventions are based on measurable outcomes rather than assumptions.

He disclosed that he recently questioned the World Bank about the effectiveness of earlier investments in the education sector.

“I met with the World Bank country director yesterday. I said, ‘We are throwing billions into zones as though we are achieving something. What are you looking at? Don’t you look at the outcomes?’” he said.

According to him, the World Bank replied that it had moved toward “result-based and outcome-based funding,” which he described as essential for improving accountability.

“But then, if we had used data before, we would have known. We would know where the investment needs to go. And as we make those investments, are we getting the outcomes we need?” he stated.

Alausa said the newly introduced education data infrastructure would help governments at all levels make informed decisions on budgeting, school facilities, teacher allocation and student performance.

“So, data is everything, and we have to be at the forefront of it. We have to drive the economy through evidence-based planning and evidence-based governance. You plan, you intervene, and you monitor outcomes,” he said.

The minister described NEDI as a “single source of truth” for Nigeria’s education sector, noting that education records across the country had previously been scattered and unreliable.

“NEDI will now be the single source of truth because, two or two-and-a-half years ago, all our educational data was fragmented,” the minister noted.

He added that the platform would contain detailed records of schools nationwide, including enrolment statistics, infrastructure, teacher qualifications and learning facilities.

The minister also revealed plans to integrate artificial intelligence into the platform to improve access to and analysis of education data.

According to him, more than 32 million students have already been registered under NEDI, a centralised platform aimed at improving data management across Nigeria’s education system.

The database currently covers more than 220,000 schools in 21 states.

NEDI is being developed as a comprehensive repository for collecting, storing and retrieving data from basic to tertiary education levels.

The platform combines datasets from major education agencies and institutions, including the Universal Basic Education Commission, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

Examination bodies such as the West African Examinations Council, National Examinations Council, and National Business and Technical Examinations Board are also expected to contribute data to the system.

A major aspect of the initiative is the National Learner Identity Number, which will assign each student a unique identifier throughout their academic journey to improve continuity and accuracy in record-keeping.

The initiative followed the Federal Government’s inauguration of a 25-member committee on January 27, 2025, to supervise the establishment of NEDI and create a harmonised centralised databank.