The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has urged education correspondents to use the Federal Ministry of Education’s digital data platform to hold state governments and local authorities accountable for education outcomes across the country.

Mr Alausa gave the charge in Abuja on Wednesday at the 2026 Annual Education Summit of the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN).

He said the newly launched Digitalised Nigeria Education Management Information System (DNEMIS) would provide journalists with verified education data to strengthen evidence-based reporting and public accountability.

According to him, the platform contains information on teacher-to-classroom ratios, pupil enrolment, school infrastructure and other indicators down to the individual school level.

“We need you journalists to use those data to challenge governors and local government authorities. You can now see the number of teachers, classrooms and facilities available in schools.

“You can drill down to the school level. This is using data for the public good, and you are the mouthpiece of the nation,” he said.

The minister urged journalists to move beyond reporting official statements by using the platform to monitor education performance and highlight gaps requiring government intervention.

He said the ministry’s reforms were currently driven by evidence, noting that preliminary findings from the 2024/2025 Annual School Census revealed significant challenges in the transition from primary to junior secondary education.

According to him, Nigeria has about 25 million pupils in primary schools but only about five million in junior secondary schools, while the country has about 90,000 primary schools compared with 16,000 junior secondary schools.

“We don’t make reforms based on assumptions. We make them based on data.

“We have almost 25 million children in primary school but just over five million in junior secondary school. Where are those children?” he asked.

Mr Alausa said the findings informed the federal government’s decision to review the policy separating junior and senior secondary schools, saying the arrangement left some senior secondary schools underutilised while junior secondary schools remained overcrowded.

He added that the ministry would continue to rely on data to shape education policies and improve access to quality education.

The minister also urged public information officers in education agencies to strengthen collaboration with the ministry’s media team to ensure coordinated and accurate communication of education reforms.

He reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to an open-door policy with the media and encouraged journalists to verify information before publication and support reforms through credible and factual reporting.

In a goodwill message, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Aisha Garba, reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to ensuring that every Nigerian child has access to quality basic education, regardless of background, location or income level.

Ms Garba described education as the most powerful tool for national development and said UBEC would continue implementing programmes aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Minister on Communications and Media, Ihkaro Attah, urged education correspondents to support sustainable education reforms through constructive engagement, evidence-based reporting and public enlightenment.

Earlier, ECAN Chairman Chuks Ukuwatu said the maiden summit was convened to assess the Tinubu administration’s education reforms, review progress and identify challenges facing the sector.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Grace Ike, commended ECAN for organising the summit and urged education correspondents to continue promoting solutions that would strengthen Nigeria’s education system. 

(NAN)