Dr Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, disclosed that approximately 80 per cent of donor funding for education over the past decade was directed to the North-West and North-East regions. Despite this, the two regions continue to record the lowest literacy and numeracy rates in Nigeria. Alausa made the statement on Monday during a roundtable session at the Education World Forum in London, according to a release by his Special Adviser on Media & Communications, Ikharo Attah.
He attributed the new insight to findings from the National Education Data Initiative (NEDI), which now allows the Federal Government to track education outcomes across formal and non-formal systems. "NEDI data revealed a key issue: 80% of donor funds in the last decade went to the North-West and North-East, yet those zones still have the lowest literacy and numeracy rates. We now have the data to redirect resources where they deliver results," Alausa said.
The minister highlighted ongoing foundational learning reforms, including the nationwide scaling of RANA for Primary 1 to 3 and Teaching at the Right Level for Primary 4 to 6 across 15 states through UBEC. These programmes use structured lesson plans, weekly teacher coaching, and regular assessments. The Accelerated Basic Education Programme (ABEP), designed for out-of-school children, delivers equivalent literacy and numeracy outcomes within three years and now feeds into the same monitoring system as formal schools.
Alausa cited state-led initiatives like EKOEXCEL, KwaraLEARN, and BayelsaPRIME as evidence of effective, data-driven models. KwaraLEARN halved foundational learning deficiencies in under two years, while BayelsaPRIME improved literacy by 20 percentage points in 19 weeks. He confirmed that foundational literacy and numeracy are central to President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda and that a National Policy on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy is being finalised.
The Federal Government plans to increase UBEC's share of the Consolidated Revenue Fund from two per cent to four per cent. Under a Partnership Compact with GPE, 70 per cent of funding is now tied to measurable outcomes in learning, teacher management, and data use.
Alausa admits 80% of donor education funds went to the North, yet the region still has the lowest literacy rates, exposing a decade of misallocated aid. The data now exists to shift spending to better-performing models like KwaraLEARN and BayelsaPRIME. Nigerians in low-performing regions have effectively lost ten years of educational progress to ineffective interventions. Accountability must now follow the data, not donor trends.
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