By Atoyebi Nike
Education leaders from across Nigeria are meeting in Akure for the 69th National Council on Education to consolidate the policy reforms introduced in recent years and strengthen data-driven decision-making in schools. The gathering brings together commissioners, permanent secretaries, directors and experts from all states and the FCT.
The NCE, Nigeria’s highest policy-making body in the sector, reviews national strategies each year and aligns federal and state actions. Recent sessions have centred on digital transformation, teacher professionalism, and curriculum reform.
Last year’s 68th Council in Abuja approved significant updates, including new competency-based curricula for basic and senior secondary schools, a phased teacher retraining plan and national minimum standards for secondary schools, with full implementation targeted for 2026. It also endorsed wider use of digital classrooms and electronic administrative systems.
The ongoing session in Akure, themed “Quality Education, Data and Professionalisation of Teaching,” continues that momentum. Addressing participants, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, said the theme reflects federal priorities on teacher quality, reliable data and stronger quality assurance.
He disclosed that 21 states have already uploaded their education data to the digital NEMIS platform with UNICEF support, urging others to join. Enitan said reforms approved last year are already showing results, and the focus now is on deepening implementation and tracking progress.
Discussions in Akure are expected to produce new strategies for expanding digital classrooms, improving teacher welfare, enhancing data reliability and boosting institutional accountability as Nigeria pushes toward a knowledge-based education system.
The meeting will run through Friday, after which a communiqué detailing new policy resolutions will be released.
