The agitation by education workers for the removal of Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, intensifies over the handling of the King’s College, Lagos, concession, and other issues within the ministry, as experts argue over realities and criticisms.
As the controversy deepens, questions are being raised over the basis of the grievances, the realities on the ground and whether the competing claims accurately reflect the state of the education sector.
Isa Pantami, a professor of Cybersecurity, and former minister of communications and digital economy, argued that removing the minister, who he described as a reform-minded person, will not help Nigeria’s education sector.
‘The evidence of his stewardship is verifiable. Through the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), the minister has restored focus and transparency to the sector. His most defining reform is the bold shift from certificate to skills.
‘By repositioning Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), as central to national productivity, he has enrolled over 150,000 trainees in more than 1,600 centres, introduced biometric verification to ensure transparency in funding, and expanded training into Artificial Intelligence, robotics, renewable energy and cybersecurity,’ Pantami said.
Other notable achievements of Alausa include the unveiling of the digital academy, and championing digital reforms that tackle age-long problems.
These reforms include the automation of result collection and transcript processes to curb fraud and delays, the launch of the School Safety Portal with the NSCDC for real-time monitoring of schools, the raising of textbook quality standards, the restoration of History as a core subject, and the facilitation of transnational education partnerships.
Besides, the minister placed teachers at the centre of reform through the National Teacher Summit, the Edurevamp professional development platform, the extension of retirement age to 65, and the commitment to pay TRCN licensing fees for public school teachers.
Isaiah Ogundele, an administrator, described the agitation as bigotry, tribalism or animosity.
‘The issue is not farfetched, the people agitating are the antiprogress people that a feeding fat on the calamity befallen educational system every day.
‘There should be a committee that the government might have put in place to sample the opinion of the people where they are for or against the ideas,’ he said.
Some stakeholders, however, argue that since the appointment of Alausa as minister of education in October 2024, the federal government has announced a series of measures aimed at restructuring Nigeria’s education system, improving access to tertiary institutions, expanding technical education and addressing infrastructure deficits.
However, they fear that several of the policies have generated strong opposition from workers, parents, teachers, academics, school proprietors and education rights advocates.
Beyond the King’s College controversy, Alausa’s tenure has been marked by reforms and policies in basic education, tertiary admissions, technical education, examinations, teacher development, digital learning and education financing that sparked controversies.
The increase in secondary school examination fees generated is another policy that stirred major controversy.
In some quarters, the minister is being accused of neglecting workers welfare, promotions and funding.
The federal government had raised the registration fees for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the National Examinations Council Senior School Certificate Examination to N50,000. The proposed charge represented an 82 percent increase over the previous N27,500 fee.
Other arguments against the minister include the decision to cancel the 2022 National Language Policy, which generated debate. The previous policy prescribed the use of the mother tongue or language of the immediate community as the medium of instruction at the foundational level.
But his administration reversed the policy and retained English as the principal medium of instruction. This, the minister defended by pointing to implementation difficulties and poor examination outcomes.
Moreover, the minister sparked controversy when he said the government was working with universities to phase out courses considered poorly aligned with labour market needs.
This decision attracted attention because he warned students against investing in programmes he considered unlikely to lead to meaningful employment.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities warned the government against scrapping university courses it considered ‘irrelevant’.
ASUU’s Bauchi Zone described the proposal as ‘bizarre’ and argued that academic disciplines cannot simply be judged by their immediate employment prospects.
For Christopher Nmeribe, a teacher, the most useful way to look at the agitation is to separate the criticisms from his achievements.
According to the educationist, the King’s College concession is a legitimate basis for serious criticism, but that, by itself, does not establish that the minister should be removed despite the broader record of his administration.
‘The controversy is real and substantial. The Federal Government says King’s College has not been sold, that government retains legal ownership and oversight, while the proposed 35-year concession would give the Old Boys’ Association responsibility for financing, rehabilitation, operation and maintenance. The arrangement has nevertheless triggered strong opposition from workers, parents and other stakeholders, including calls for Alausa’s removal.
‘Interestingly, the government and unions have now agreed to a two-week suspension of implementation and a committee to review/negotiate the agreement. That creates an opportunity to examine the substance rather than allow the controversy to become a simple personality battle,’ he noted.
Nmeribe recommended some yardsticks determine either the minister stays or removed; policy outcomes, not policy announcements. How much have reforms actually improved learning, access, skills acquisition, infrastructure and educational quality?
‘His ministry points to initiatives such as TVET expansion, STEMM investment, NELFUND, teacher development, digitalisation and measures addressing out-of-school children. These should be assessed against measurable results rather than merely counting programmes.
‘The King’s College question is important here. Was the concession transparently negotiated? Were stakeholders adequately consulted? Is value for money demonstrable? Are staff protected? Are there enforceable performance indicators and termination/step-in provisions?’ he queried.
Above all, he said the strongest test is not how many policies have been launched but whether the Nigerian child is learning better, staying in school, acquiring useful skills and graduating into meaningful opportunities.