Tunji Alausa, minister of education, says the era of public-funded schools remaining locked, abandoned or underutilised despite being declared completed must come to an end.
Alausa spoke in Abuja on Tuesday while inaugurating the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) ministerial implementation and monitoring committee for smart schools, bilingual schools and alternative schools.
He said the committee was established to ensure that educational infrastructure funded with public resources is completed, handed over to state governments and opened for learning.
According to the minister, recent implementation reports show that although many UBEC-funded projects have reached advanced stages of construction, several remain unfinished, while others that have been completed are yet to be handed over or integrated into state education systems.
He said the situation has denied thousands of Nigerian children access to learning opportunities.
“Every day a completed school remains locked represents lost opportunities for thousands of Nigerian children,” Alausa said.
“Every abandoned project represents resources that are not yielding their intended educational value, and every delay undermines the confidence of our citizens in government’s ability to deliver.”
The minister said the committee’s success would not be measured by the number of meetings it holds or reports it produces, but by the number of schools that become operational.
“It will be measured by one fundamental question: How many schools have become operational and are educating Nigerian children?” he said.
Alausa said members of the committee had been tasked with ensuring the completion of ongoing projects, installation of furniture and equipment, provision of electricity, water and internet connectivity, deployment of teachers and enrolment of pupils.
He urged the committee to work closely with UBEC, state governments, state universal basic education boards (SUBEBs) and contractors to ensure every project delivers value.
The minister said the federal government is shifting its focus from measuring project completion to assessing actual learning outcomes.
“The Federal Ministry of Education is not only interested in measuring outputs but equally in measuring outcomes. Government exists to deliver results,” he said.
Alausa described smart schools, bilingual schools and alternative schools as some of the most innovative interventions introduced to improve basic education in Nigeria.
According to him, smart schools are designed to equip learners with digital skills, bilingual schools promote linguistic inclusion and national integration, while alternative schools provide education for vulnerable children, including girls and out-of-school children.
He assured Nigerians that no education project funded with public resources would be allowed to remain abandoned or idle under the current administration.
“Every classroom will count. Every school will function. Every investment will deliver value. Every Nigerian child deserves nothing less,” the minister said.
