Nigeria faces an educational emergency that can no longer be papered over with conferences and communiqués. The recently concluded KADA EduPACT International Summit 2025 in Kaduna has been celebrated as a beacon of reform, yet celebration alone is insufficient. The nation must scrutinise its lessons, assess their practicality, and commit to genuine implementation across the federation.
Governor Uba Sani’s initiative deserves recognition. Kaduna’s reduction of tertiary fees, enrolment of over 200,000 out-of-school children, and deliberate expansion of technical and vocational education represent interventions grounded in foresight and urgency.
However, a single state’s efforts cannot remedy a system where more than 20 million children remain excluded from classrooms and national examination results reflect the steepest decline in five years. A system that continues to produce millions of graduates armed only with certificates and lacking skills is unsustainable.
The current crisis is not accidental. It stems from decades of neglect, half-measures, and misplaced priorities. Governments have invested billions in abandoned campuses and empty structures while depriving teachers and students of essential resources. A recent Universal Basic Education Commission report described the situation as “a crisis of great magnitude,” and this is no exaggeration.
Kaduna’s reforms, reducing fees, returning children to classrooms, and integrating vocational training with academic education, underscore the failure of federal leadership to replicate bold initiatives nationwide. It is unacceptable that in 2025, Nigeria trails Rwanda, a nation scarred by genocide, yet today achieving 98 per cent enrolment through deliberate and well-funded reforms.
Federal policymakers continue to underfund education, with budgets struggling to reach UNESCO’s recommended minimum of 20 per cent. Funds are often diverted to corruption, white elephant projects, or endless policy reviews with minimal tangible outcomes.
Accountability extends beyond politicians. State governors, controlling basic education through SUBEBs, have at times prioritised photo opportunities over systemic reform. Universities have resisted modernisation, clinging to outdated curricula and producing graduates ill-prepared for industry or entrepreneurship. The decay is systemic and the responsibility shared collectively.
The 1999 Constitution, as amended, places education on the concurrent legislative list, making it both a right and a shared duty. Section 18 mandates governments to “ensure equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels,” yet this guarantee is frequently disregarded, leaving children without classrooms, teachers unpaid, and families disheartened.
Kaduna’s reforms, while not flawless, provide a framework for nationwide adoption. Lowering tuition fees is an investment in human capital, returning children to school is a constitutional duty, and prioritising technical and vocational education is a necessity to combat youth unemployment, particularly in rural areas where 40 per cent of children engage in child labour.
Decolonising the curriculum is equally essential. Nigeria cannot continue relying solely on rote memorisation and foreign models while neglecting indigenous knowledge and apprenticeship systems. The Igbo model of entrepreneurial apprenticeship has sustained generations of wealth creation. Formalising, strengthening, and integrating such systems with global technology could enable Nigeria to replicate the German dual system, keeping youth unemployment minimal.
Teachers must remain at the heart of reform. No nation can rise above the quality of its educators. Their welfare, training, and professional autonomy must be sacrosanct. Without empowered teachers, there can be no empowered generation.
Incremental progress is insufficient. Cosmetic reforms cannot meet the scale of the challenge. A national educational revolution anchored on three pillars—accessibility, relevance, and sustainability—is urgently required. Federal and state governments must redirect budgets from political vanity projects into classrooms, digital infrastructure, and teacher welfare.
The private sector should be compelled to invest in education through deliberate tax policies and enforced corporate social responsibility. Parents and communities must be mobilised as active partners, not passive observers.
Nigeria stands at a critical juncture. Failure to act decisively will deepen the out-of-school crisis, exacerbate poverty and insecurity, and risk the promise of the “New Nigeria.” Yet, if courage is chosen over excuses, lessons over lip service, and bold investment over token gestures, the nation can still build a society where every child learns, every youth creates, and every graduate contributes meaningfully.
Education is not an expenditure. It is the foundation of national survival. The moment for decisive action is now.