Nigeria’s N845bn basic education spend in 3yrs fails to boost outcomes

…as FG unveils new $552m education initiative

Nigeria’s three-year N845 billion investments in basic education have yet to yield significant improvements in outcomes, raising concerns about the effectiveness of government spending in the sector.

With learning gaps persisting and infrastructure challenges unresolved, concerns are mounting over the effectiveness of the spending. Against this backdrop, authorities have launched a new $552 million education initiative to reverse the trend and revitalise the country’s basic education system.

Stanley Alaubi, senior lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, believes that to make the initiative effective, it should be directed to the grassroots, where it is needed most.

“The grassroots is the place to start from. I mean basic primary education should be standardised across the nation,” he said.

Alaubi emphasised the need to adopt the public-private partnership because it would guarantee the success desired in the result of reducing the number of out-of-school children, as the government cannot do it alone.

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“If you look around the world, it’s that partnership that has helped countries such as the USA and the UK, among others, to achieve what they have right now

“The local government should be the cardinal point to drive this initiative through the help of traditional rulers who are closer to the people; from there it would get to the states, and the change can be palpable,” he noted.

Nigeria’s education sector has seen numerous reform agendas over the years, many of which struggled to achieve lasting impact.

The federal government’s latest $552.18 million initiative now faces the same test: substance or symbolism?

The government announced plans to begin full implementation of a $552.18 million education initiative aimed at overhauling the country’s basic education system.

The programme, named HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All and HOPE-Governance, is a partnership with the World Bank and the Global Partnership for Education.

According to a report from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the program aims to improve learning outcomes for over 29 million children by empowering 500,000 teachers, constructing 13,000 classrooms, and bringing millions of out-of-school children back to school nationwide.

The four-year programme, which officially became effective on February 27, adopts a result-based financing model anchored on three result areas: increasing quality education, improving education access, and strengthening the system.

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The sensitisation workshop is designed to provide a shared understanding of the programme as articulated in the Programme Appraisal Document (PAD) and the Programme Operational Manual (POM), foster institutional alignment across all stakeholders, and ensure that states are equipped with the capacity and knowledge required for effective implementation.

Participants will gain strategic awareness of the programme’s structure, objectives, and expected outcomes; identify roles and responsibilities across all implementing stakeholders; examine key implementation strategies, including work plan development, safeguard components, and procurement protocols; and draw on lessons learnt from the BESDA-AF implementation to strengthen their approach to the HOPE-EDU programme.

Blessing Ema, a teacher, sees the initiative as ending as a talking point without the government fixing the infrastructural decay in many schools, especially in the rural areas, and addressing the ravaging insecurity threats.

“Is it in schools without roofs, like the one shown the other day in Abuja, or communities faced with security threats that parents would release their children for school enrolment

“In the northern area, children are learning under the tree, and how can they even learn with bombs and bandit threats?” she asked.

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In 2025, insecurity and mass abductions plagued schoolchildren, especially in the North, despite the government’s claims of tackling insecurity.
Save the Children International estimated at least 10 school kidnappings across Nigeria in less than two years, affecting about 670 children. Data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project records at least 47 student abduction incidents between 2024 and 2025.

According to a UNICEF report, at least 10.5 million primary school-age children (25.6 percent) are not enrolled in schools, with girls accounting for 60 percent of out-of-school children.

Christopher Ibe, a school administrator, describes the initiative as laudable on paper but labels it as a pipeline for corruption because, according to him, the root cause of out-of-school children is not being addressed.

“Most Nigerians are after how to survive, and the government is not doing anything about that. Even in Lagos places such as Idi-Araba, Canoe in the Ajao Estate axis, and Ilasa in Mushin, you’ll see children roaming about.

“The latent fees imposed by the government are driving many people away, as they can’t afford what it takes to be either in private or public schools,” he said.

However, Jessica Osuere, chief executive officer at RubiesHub Educational Services, noted that the country’s foundational problem is a lack of planning and not rolling out laudable policies.

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“Poor planning, inadequate funding, corruption, and insecurity slowed down Nigeria’s education drive after independence.

“Sadly, today, we have one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children in the world! It’s a pointer to the fact that education has not been given the attention it deserves,” she said.

She narrated a heartbreaking story of school children in Ekiti State bailing rainwater out of their classroom.

“You can see the sky from the classroom; our children learn under the most inhumane circumstances. Simply put, education-wise, our progress has been uneven, and the system has failed to keep up with the needs of the people,” Osuere emphasised.

She stressed that no nation rises above the level of its education system; hence, the premium put on education determines the rate of growth and/or development of any country.

In 2023, the federal government allocated N103.29 billion to UBEC to boost basic education, and in 2024, the sum of N3.6 billion was earmarked for the commission, while N738 billion was made available in 2025.