The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has criticised the Federal Government’s management of Nigeria’s education sector, arguing that weak leadership and inadequate funding—not the structure of the school system—are responsible for the country’s declining educational standards.
Obi made the remarks on Friday in a post on social media platform X, following the Federal Government’s announcement that it would discontinue the policy separating Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) from Senior Secondary Schools (SSS). The government acknowledged that the policy had failed to improve learning outcomes and had contributed to rising dropout rates across the country.
Reacting to the decision, Obi said the government’s admission confirmed years of poor management of the education sector.
According to him, the recent acknowledgement by the Minister of Education that the JSS and SSS separation policy had not delivered the expected results highlights a much deeper problem within the country’s educational system.
Obi pointed to recent examination statistics as evidence of the crisis. He noted that only 38.32 per cent of candidates obtained credit passes in both English Language and Mathematics in the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, while approximately 32 per cent of candidates passed the computer-based WASSCE conducted in 2025.
He described the figures as alarming and warned that continued poor academic performance threatens Nigeria’s future economic development.
The former governor of Anambra State stressed that education remains the foundation of human capital development and is essential for national growth. He argued that Nigeria cannot effectively tackle unemployment, poverty and economic stagnation without prioritising education, healthcare and job creation.
Obi also criticised the level of government spending on education, noting that the sector received ₦3.52 trillion in the 2026 national budget, representing only 6.17 per cent of total government expenditure.
He maintained that the allocation falls significantly below the 15 to 20 per cent funding benchmark recommended by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, describing the budget as evidence that education is yet to be treated as a national development priority.
The former governor further expressed concern over reports that Nigeria could not sponsor students to international science competitions because of inadequate funding.
He said it was unfortunate that government resources could be used to finance numerous international conferences while talented Nigerian students were denied opportunities to represent the country on global academic platforms.
Obi insisted that the problem was never the policy separating junior and senior secondary schools but rather the government’s inability to properly fund, implement and monitor the education system.
He argued that effective leadership, adequate investment and proper oversight would have produced better educational outcomes regardless of the policy framework.
Drawing from his experience as governor of Anambra State, Obi said his administration improved educational standards through consistent investment in infrastructure, technology and learning facilities.
According to him, schools across the state were equipped with computers, laptops, internet connectivity, electricity generators and other teaching resources, contributing to improved academic performance.
He added that the state’s investment in educational technology earned international recognition after HP Africa reportedly identified Anambra as the African subnational government that procured the highest number of laptops for schoolchildren.
Obi urged the Federal Government to significantly increase investment in education, healthcare and employment programmes, warning that neglecting these critical sectors could have lasting consequences for future generations.
His comments followed an announcement by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, that the Federal Government would abolish the policy separating Junior Secondary Schools from Senior Secondary Schools.
The minister explained that government data showed more than 20 million pupils dropped out before reaching senior secondary school, adding that the imbalance between roughly 80,000 public primary schools and only about 15,000 junior secondary schools had created overcrowding and contributed significantly to the country’s growing dropout rate.
