Education Ministry, NBS Collaborate on Nationwide Survey to Track Out of School Children

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has announced a partnership between the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) aimed at strengthening education data management and generating more accurate figures on out-of-school children across Nigeria.

Alausa disclosed this following a meeting with the Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the NBS, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran.

According to the minister, discussions centred on the utilisation of data generated through the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI) and its Digital National Education Management Information System (D-NEMIS) platform.

He explained that D-NEMIS has digitised the Annual School Census, replacing the largely manual process previously used to collect education data nationwide.

The platform, he noted, captures critical information from schools across states and wards, including the number of public and private schools, teacher population, classrooms, laboratories, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) facilities.

“For the first time, the Federal Ministry of Education now has robust education data to support evidence-based decision-making,” Alausa said.

The minister stated that the collaboration aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s “One Government Approach,” which encourages cooperation among government institutions to improve service delivery and national planning.

He revealed that both agencies also discussed strategies for obtaining more reliable data on out-of-school children, an issue that has remained a major challenge in the education sector.

According to him, one of the approaches under consideration is a nationwide household survey that will include data mapping, similar to a model previously deployed in Kaduna State to verify out-of-school children figures.

Alausa said the NBS and the Ministry of Education would work together to conduct the survey across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to establish a more accurate picture of the country’s out-of-school population.

He further disclosed that the NBS has deployed eight statisticians to support the Ministry’s NEDI team in aggregating, disaggregating and analysing education data to improve policy implementation and programme monitoring.

Quoting President Tinubu’s emphasis on data-driven governance, the minister said, “Without data, you’re flying blind.”

He added that the initiative reflects the Federal Government’s commitment to using evidence-based policies to improve education outcomes and strengthen planning across the sector.