Federal Government to Standardize National Learning Assessment Every Three Years

The Federal Government has announced plans to institutionalize the National Learning Assessment as a triennial exercise to combat learning poverty and enhance the quality of education nationwide.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this initiative on Friday in Abuja while overseeing the ongoing 2026 assessment across various public and private schools. He explained that the program which evaluates literacy, numeracy, and cognitive skills among primary and secondary school students will now be conducted consistently every three years to provide reliable data for evidence-based policymaking.

“The importance of learning assessment is that we need to know the kind of education we are giving our pupils and students… to determine whether they are actually learning,” the minister stated. He further noted that the Universal Basic Education Commission has been instructed to secure the necessary budgetary provisions for the 2029 cycle and beyond.

Addressing the challenge of “learning poverty,” where millions of children reportedly struggle to read age-appropriate texts, the minister emphasized that this new, harmonized assessment framework will replace previous fragmented efforts. The strategy is designed to provide accurate benchmarks for measuring educational outcomes over time, aligning with the current administration’s broader agenda to revitalize the sector.

While commending private educational institutions for their role in expanding access to schooling, the minister stressed that the government remains committed to strengthening regulatory standards. Local authorities, including the FCT Education Secretariat, reaffirmed their support for the initiative, noting that ongoing infrastructure improvements, such as the renovation of over 120 public schools in the capital, are part of a coordinated effort to create a more conducive environment for learning and development.