Nigeria is alarmed that millions of children leave school before reaching senior secondary level.
The government says new digital data will guide urgent action to keep learners enrolled.
The Federal Government has raised serious concern over Nigeria’s soaring school dropout rate, revealing that millions of children are disappearing from the education system before reaching senior secondary level.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed on Thursday, October 23, that recent data from the Nigeria Education Management Information System (NEMIS) shows a dramatic decline in student progression across the country.
During a ministerial roundtable in Abuja on zero-rated data and devices for teachers, Alausa said that digital records gathered from 21 states indicated that roughly 30 million pupils began primary education. Shockingly, only about six million made it to senior secondary school.
He described the figures as alarming, noting that Nigeria risks long-term consequences for national development if children continue to drop out at such a scale.
Alausa explained that the number reduces sharply at the transition points. According to the data, around 20 million children vanish from the system before completing basic education, and an additional four million exit before entering senior secondary school.
He said the availability of real-time digital information now gives the government the opportunity to respond with targeted, evidence-based solutions to keep more children in school.
The Minister noted that the government is currently capturing biometric data of all learners into NEMIS to allow better monitoring of attendance, progression, and policy effectiveness. He emphasized that by 2026, Nigeria’s annual school census will become fully digital, eliminating paper-based submissions.
He also disclosed plans to integrate data from both WAEC and JAMB into the central system for a more comprehensive educational database.
Alausa commended UNICEF for its technical assistance and praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for backing the digital transformation of the education sector through financial and policy support.
