Education
Northern Governors Laments high number Out-of-School Children
By Israel Bulus, Kaduna
The Northern State Governors Forum (NSGF) under the leadership of Alh. Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya has lamented the regions number out-of-school children.
Inuwa expressed the forum’s displeasure in a communique issued on Tuesday at the end of its meeting held at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna.
He disclosed that, Northern Nigeria currently bears the burden of the highest number of out-of-school children in the world, noting this is an unacceptable reality the forum must urgently address.
” Every child deserves access to quality education and the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to succeed in today’s rapidly changing global economic landscape.
“As leaders, we have a moral obligation to invest massively in education and skills development, healthcare, and social services to unlock the full potential of our youth and empower future generations,” Inuwa maintained.
Meanwhile, It would be recalled that the Northern Governors were in Washington DC for a security summit t fashion ways toward ending the scourge of insecurity in their region.
While commenting on the State of insecurity, The Chairman, who is the Governor of Gombe State, sympathized with the people of Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Plateau, and Zamfara States, over their unprecedented security challenges recently.
He urged the states governors to stand together in solidarity by offering a firm commitment to supporting their fellow northern brethren during their difficult times.
According to him, security remains top on their agenda, and during their last meeting, they reaffirmed their willingness to work with the Federal Government to provide lasting solutions to the security challenges bedeviling their region.
” We have had various engagements with the National Security Adviser, service chiefs, a coalition of northern civil society groups, and other relevant stakeholders on charting a way forward for sustainable peace and stability in northern Nigeria.
Commenting on the State Police, the Chairman noted that, as the nation continues to deliberate on the issue of state police, it is important that they begin to explore state policing models that are built on the foundation of cooperation and collaboration amongst their northern states.
” Economic development is paramount to our region’s prosperity. We consider economic development as the long-term solution to our security challenges.
” In this regard, the revitalization of the New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) is at the heart of our economic agenda for northern Nigeria, stressing we must also explore innovative ways to invest in critical infrastructure capable of unlocking the huge industrial and economic potentials of the northern region.
” Regional integration remains a cornerstone to their collective vision for a prosperous northern region and urged the forum to deepen their collaborations in infrastructure development, human capital enhancement, trade, security cooperation, and cultural exchange.” He added.
The Kaduna State Governor, Sen. Uba Sani, who is the host, said since their inaugural Meeting, they have individually and collectively fashioned workable strategies and implemented some measures to tackle their security challenges.
” We have made remarkable progress in degrading criminal elements laying siege to our communities. The Federal Government under the dynamic, focused, and courageous leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR has demonstrated total commitment to winning the war against terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other forms of criminality. It has strengthened its partnership with the Northern States and sustained its support to us.
” Today’s meeting allows us to look at our successes and challenges so far in the war against terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping and fashion new strategies for a final push against these enemies of development.
Our Correspondent reports that the meeting was attended by Gombe State Governor, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Kebbi Borno, Zamfara, Katsina, and Bauchi State
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, on Friday announced the release of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, results.
Elanza news reported that over 1.9 million applicants participated in the just-concluded exercise.
The board also disclosed that 80 suspects across the country are currently under interrogation for examination fraud, with Anambra State leading the pack with 14 suspects.
The board said it is withholding the results of 39,834 candidates over issues relating to examination irregularities.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, stated this on Friday while officially releasing the 2025 UTME.
He also disclosed that while 467 underage candidates met the prescribed minimum score, 50 were engaged in cheating scandal.
A press conference to this effect is ongoing.
Details coming…
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa has announced the upgrade of 38 federal and state technical colleges across Nigeria as part of comprehensive reforms aimed at equipping young Nigerians with globally competitive skills.
Speaking on Monday at the 2025 Quarterly Citizens and Stakeholders Engagement on the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative in Abuja, Alausa said the upgrades are part of a broader effort to reposition the education sector for a skill-based, knowledge-driven economy.
The engagement session focused on strategic priorities, unveiling of key initiatives, and addressing persistent challenges, particularly the high number of out-of-school children.
Alausa outlined six core priority areas under the ministry’s reform agenda, including reducing the number of out-of-school girls, enhancing quality assurance, and improving access through targeted national programs.
He also highlighted the introduction of a dual-training model in the upgraded technical colleges, where students will now spend 80% of their time on hands-on training and 20% in the classroom — a shift designed to better prepare them for real-world job markets.
NESRI, the centre piece of the reform, includes initiatives on literacy improvement, curriculum reform, and data digitisation, and is aimed at transitioning Nigeria from a resource-based to a knowledge-driven economy.
Alausa said, “Artisans will be paid to mentor trainees, establishing a new value chain in the education sector.
“Our goal is to train 5 million young Nigerians with globally relevant skills within four years.
“NESRI addresses issues of access, quality, inclusivity, research, and professional development in education.”
The minister noted that Nigeria currently has 15 million out-of-school children and over 45 million classified as learning poor.
He said adolescent girls, particularly the 6 million aged 12–19 currently out of school, remained a key focus of the reforms.
To address this crisis, the minister said 25,000 children have been integrated into formal education through NESRI, while 4,000 Tsangaya teachers have been trained to support inclusive education.
Alausa announced that the National Examinations Council, and the West African Examinations Council would begin conducting computer-based tests from November 2025, with full digitisation of all national examinations, including JAMB, by 2027.
He said the move was to tackle examination fraud and enhance integrity.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released a statistical breakdown of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), revealing that over 1.5 million of the 1.95 million candidates scored below 200/400.
In a post on its official X on Monday, JAMB highlighted that a total of 1,955,069 candidates sat for the examination, and of this number, a significant 1,534,654 candidates—representing 78.5%—scored below the 200 mark.
A breakdown of the results shows that only 4,756 candidates (0.24%) achieved scores of 320 and above, while 7,658 candidates (0.39%) scored between 300 and 319.
In total, just 12,414 candidates (0.63%) scored 300 and above.
For the 250-299 score range, 73,441 candidates (3.76%) were recorded, while a larger proportion, 334,560 candidates (17.11%), scored between 200 and 249.
The category with the highest number of candidates was the 160 and 199 range, with 983,187 candidates (50.29%).
Further down the scale, 488,197 candidates (24.97%) scored between 140 and 159, and 57,419 candidates (2.94%) scored between 120 and 139.
A percentage of candidates, 3,820 (0.20%), scored between 100 and 119, while 2,031 candidates (0.10%) fell below the 100 mark.
In addition to the overall results, JAMB also disclosed that 40,247 underage candidates were allowed to participate in the examination due to their “exceptional abilities.”
However, only 467 of these candidates (1.16%) achieved scores that meet the defined threshold for “exceptional ability.” According to JAMB, these candidates’ performances will undergo further evaluation in the next three stages.