As Nigeria celebrates its 65th Independence Anniversary, the spotlight falls once again on the country’s education system. What emerges is a sector caught between promise and peril: dismal exam results, chronic underfunding, and institutional decay on one hand, and bold policy interventions such as the National Education Repository and Databank (NERD) on the other. Whether this moment marks a turning point or just another missed opportunity depends on how far policy can meet practice.
Exam Outcomes: A Mirror of Systemic Failure
The 2025 examination cycle has underscored the depth of the crisis.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) initially reported a dismal 38.32% pass rate (five credits, including English and Mathematics), its worst in five years. Although WAEC later revised the figure upward to 62.96% after correcting marking errors, the damage to public trust was done. Confidence dipped further after the council withheld results for 192,089 candidates over suspected malpractice.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) fared little better. More than 75% of candidates scored below 200 out of 400 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). In addition, widespread server failures disrupted exams for nearly 380,000 candidates, raising concerns about Nigeria’s readiness for fully digital assessments.
The National Examinations Council (NECO) announced a 60.26% pass rate, but fact-checkers found sharp disparities across states. While Kano led in sheer candidate numbers, its proportional pass rate was under 50%. Southern states such as Abia, Anambra, and Lagos recorded significantly higher success rates, spotlighting Nigeria’s entrenched educational divide.
The chaos extended beyond scores. In Taraba State, a school building collapsed during WAEC, injuring students and invigilators. In Kwara State, students were forced to sit for English Language exams late into the night due to the delayed arrival of WAEC materials. Critics argue that with such weak infrastructure, Nigeria is ill-prepared for the planned transition to Computer-Based Testing (CBT) across national exams
Budgets That Don’t Deliver
Nigeria operates Africa’s largest education system, with more than 32 million students across primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions. Yet, funding remains far below global benchmarks.
In the 2025 budget, the federal government allocated ₦3.52 trillion to education, about 7% of total spending. UNESCO recommends 15–20%, and Nigeria’s own National Policy on Education prescribes 26%. Personnel costs alone reveal the funding gap.
Nigeria has about 2.3 million registered teachers (TRCN, 2024). At the current minimum wage of ₦70,000 per month, the annual salary needs amount to ₦1.93 trillion. The 2025 budget earmarked ₦1.64 trillion for personnel, leaving a ₦290 billion shortfall for salaries alone.
States mirror this unevenness. Kano, Jigawa, and Enugu have committed upwards of 20–26% of their budgets to education. In contrast, Lagos, Delta, and Bayelsa allocate significantly less, deepening regional inequities.
Implementation is another bottleneck. By July 2025, ₦250 billion in Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) grants remained idle in state coffers due to bureaucratic delays, leaving classrooms in Niger, Kogi, and parts of Kano to collapse into disrepair.
Institutional Rot: Strikes and Loan Setbacks
Persistent strikes remain a defining feature of tertiary education. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and its polytechnic counterpart (ASUP) continue to threaten nationwide shutdowns over unmet agreements dating back to 2009.
Meanwhile, the much-heralded Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has stumbled. Verification bottlenecks and slow rollouts left thousands of students stranded without promised tuition support, undermining confidence in the scheme.
Policy Shifts: NERD, Curriculum Reforms, and Beyond
In response, the Federal Ministry of Education has unveiled ambitious reforms under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), anchored in President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Central to this is the National Education Repository and Databank (NERD), made mandatory from October 6, 2025, for mobilisation into or exemption from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). Final-year projects, theses, and dissertations must now be uploaded to the database, serving both as proof of enrollment and a bulwark against certificate forgery.
The system promises monetisation opportunities, allowing students and lecturers to earn royalties from their work. Agencies like the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have been tasked with ensuring digital integrity through data exchange.
Other reforms rolled out between 2024 and 2025 include:
New school curriculum emphasising skills and values, with lighter workloads.
Reversal of the tertiary admission age to 16 years.
Dual Mandate Policy enabling Colleges of Education to run both degree and NCE programmes.
15 new trade subjects in basic education to boost employability.
Free education in federal technical schools beginning in 2025/26, covering tuition, boarding, and a ₦22,500 stipend.
Training of 6,000 teachers in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
These policies, if implemented effectively, could bridge the gap between aspiration and achievement. But the recurring challenge remains capacity in infrastructure, governance, and accountability.
The Crossroads: Reform or Regression?
At 65, Nigeria’s education sector embodies a paradox. Its students and teachers demonstrate resilience and brilliance in spite of systemic failures. Yet the latest data paints a picture of underachievement and disillusionment.
Experts argue that resolving the ₦290 billion teacher salary shortfall, strengthening anti-corruption measures to recover misappropriated funds, and investing in teacher security in conflict-prone zones are immediate steps that can stabilise the sector. The EFCC’s recovery of ₦277 billion in 2024 demonstrates that plugging leakages could fund a significant portion of education’s deficits without additional taxes or debt.
Ultimately, the question is not whether Nigeria can afford to reform its education system, but whether it can afford not to.
If reforms like NERD and the new curriculum are implemented with integrity, Nigeria may yet reclaim education as a driver of growth, stability, and innovation. But if left to rot under the weight of poor funding and institutional inertia, another generation risks being lost to the cycle of strikes, poor outcomes, and dashed hopes.
At 65, Nigeria’s education system is not beyond saving. But the clock is ticking.
