Due to the lack of reliable data on various aspects of the education sector in Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu has issued a directive to conduct a comprehensive census.
This census aims to identify the weaknesses and gaps in the education system and assist in effective planning.
The directive, which was issued on Thursday, will gather data on all schools in Nigeria, ranging from primary to tertiary level. This data will include information on the current conditions of the schools, the facilities available for students, the proximity of schools to each other, and the overall infrastructure.
Additionally, the census will also focus on determining the number of teachers in the country, their qualifications, the support they receive for training, and the number of students in primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions. It will also gather data on the gender distribution of students and their exam grades.
The Federal Ministry of Education, currently under the leadership of Mamman Tahir, will play a key role in this process. They will establish a portal or dashboard where all the critical information will be collected and stored.
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The presidential directive is part of a larger initiative known as the policy DOTS (Data Repository, Out-of-School Children Education, Teacher Training and Development, and Skill Development and Acquisition).
This initiative aims to comprehensively transform the education sector by improving learning and skill development, increasing enrollment, and ensuring the academic security of Nigerian children.
The statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity emphasized that the data collected through this exercise will guide both federal and state interventions in terms of teacher training, development, and overall support.
The information gathered will also provide insights into the gender ratio of students, their specific learning needs, and whether they are currently enrolled in school or have dropped out. This data will be monitored on a daily basis and reported on a year-by-year basis.
To ensure effective monitoring, dedicated portals or dashboards will be established in the Federal Ministry of Education, state governor offices, and local government chairpersons’ offices.
These platforms will host and disseminate the information in real-time, allowing the federal government, states, and local governments to monitor the progress of students.
This new data tracking architecture will enable the government to closely monitor the academic progress of students and make informed decisions to improve the education system in Nigeria.
