The Federal Government has directed officials handling the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) to take full ownership of their assignments and deliver measurable outcomes, as part of efforts to strengthen accountability in the education sector.
The directive was issued on Friday by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, during the Ministerial Deliverables Meeting on NESRI held in Abuja.
A statement signed by the minister’s Special Adviser, Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, stated that the meeting, which marked six months since the last NESRI retreat in February, was convened to review progress, address implementation challenges, and set clear timelines for outstanding tasks.
Alausa said the review focused on four critical areas: verification of completed deliverables to ensure they met their full scope, examination of pending tasks and the bottlenecks delaying them, establishment of realistic timelines for outstanding assignments, and consideration of additional deliverables and emerging priorities under NESRI.
He stressed that activities should not be marked as completed simply because they had commenced or recorded partial milestones.
According to the Minister, programme coordinators and other responsible officials were required to identify specific bottlenecks hindering delivery and propose practical solutions.
He added that timelines would now be set for all outstanding deliverables, with officials held directly accountable for meeting the agreed targets.
The session also provided room to consider new priorities that require the Ministry’s attention as implementation of the education reform agenda continues.
Speaking at the meeting, Alausa said the purpose of the review was not to celebrate achievements but to take an honest stock of progress and gaps.
“Today is not about celebrating what we have done and going home. It is about looking at what we have done, what remains to be done and how we can finish what we have started,” he stated.
The minister commended officials for their efforts so far and acknowledged the strong political will demonstrated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in supporting reforms aimed at improving access, quality and relevance in education.
He noted that the mandate given to him and the Honourable Minister of State for Education was to ensure that every Nigerian child has access to quality education that equips them with the knowledge, skills and opportunities to succeed.
Alausa however warned against complacency, saying every achievement recorded must serve as momentum for the next phase of delivery.
He outlined that NESRI covers priority areas including Technical and Vocational Education and Training, STEM, the challenge of out-of-school children, girl-child education, quality assurance, data and digitalisation.
The minister further stated that the success of the Ministry would not be measured by the number of programmes launched or meetings held, but by the tangible improvements Nigerians experience in schools.
He urged coordinators, directors and other officials to deepen collaboration, maintain clear ownership of their deliverables, and remain focused on results.
(The Whistler)
