The federal government has launched a new ‘National Policy on Non-State Schools’ to regulate, support, and standardise the operations of private and community-based educational institutions across Nigeria.

Tunji Alausa, Education Minister, speaking at the launch of the policy in Abuja on Thursday, noted that the policy aims to ensure that non-state schools, including private, faith-based, charity, community schools, home schooling initiatives, and adult learning centers, adhere to national standards in infrastructure, teacher quality, curriculum delivery, and accountability.

The policy, which was approved by the National Council for Education in October 2024, was developed in collaboration with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through the Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE).

Alausa expressed concern over the rapid expansion of private education in recent years, noting that between 2017 and 2022, non-state schools grew by 39 percent, far outpacing public primary and junior secondary schools, which grew by just 3.5 percent and 6.3 percent respectively.

“As our population continues to grow, non-state schools are helping to fill the gap. While we appreciate their role, we are determined to ensure better regulation, accountability, and support so they can deliver higher-quality education to our children,” he said.

The policy introduces national minimum standards that all non-state schools must meet, covering key areas such as teacher qualifications, learning environment safety, curriculum alignment, and data reporting. It also outlines mechanisms for formal collaboration between non-state schools and government agencies.

To encourage compliance and expand access to education, the government also announced new incentive measures. These include plans to reimburse private schools for enrolling out-of-school children starting from the 2025–2026 academic session.

Additionally, direct grants will be provided to privately-owned early childhood development centres, and public-private partnerships will be pursued for the concessioning of unity schools.

“By harnessing the potential of non-state schools, we can increase access to quality education, improve learning outcomes, and promote economic growth,” he noted.

In his remarks, Ian Attfield, senior education adviser at the British High Commission, reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s education reforms and strengthening the role of non-state actors in the sector.

“With rapid urbanisation from 250,000 residents in 1960 to over 15 million today, Lagos and other cities have witnessed mushrooming education providers beyond government reach. Regulation is not only timely, it’s essential,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, Saleh Adamu, who represented the Coalition of Non-State Schools, welcomed the new policy and called for sustained collaboration between government and private stakeholders to enhance education delivery across the country.

Ronke Soyombo, registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), revealed that over 85 percent of those currently teaching in non-state schools are not registered professionals.

“TRCN is taking concrete steps to simplify and expand registration processes nationwide, ensuring that qualified teachers support learning across all sectors,” Soyombo said.

Falling education standards

Analysts argue that the federal government’s move is geared towards arresting poor education standards.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) released a sobering set of statistics from the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in May, revealing that more than 70 percent of candidates scored below 200 out of the total 400 marks.

Despite the flaws of the exam body in the 2025 UTME, analysts say the failure rate was nevertheless high.

Out of the 1.9 million candidates who sat for the 2025 UTME, a staggering 1.3 million, roughly 70.7 percent, failed to hit the 200-mark threshold, according to data released by the examination body.

Only 565,988 candidates, or 29.3 percent, scored above 200, while a mere 6 percent managed to cross the 250-point mark.

Also, no Nigerian university was listed in the top 100 of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for 2026.

The rankings were based on academic and employer reputation, faculty, research citation counts, international student diversity, international research network, employment outcomes, and sustainability.

Similarly, only Covenant University and the University of Ibadan made the Times Higher Education ranking of 1000 universities in 2024. (BusinessDay)