Abuja: The Statistician-General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, has announced that the Federal Government is committed to enhancing the production of accurate and reliable data in the education sector through the adoption of technology. This declaration was made during the 2024 African Statistics Day celebration organized by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the theme of the event, ‘Supporting Education by Modernising the Production of Fit-For-Purpose Statistics,’ highlights a core challenge faced by the African Statistical System, reflecting a broader global issue. Adeniran emphasized that the ongoing advancements in the data ecosystem, largely driven by technology, necessitate a departure from traditional methods and statistics. Innovative approaches are essential to address current challenges, particularly in the education sector.
Adeniran expressed satisfaction that members of the Nigerian statistical system are recognizing the need for innovatio
n and adaptation to remain relevant. He underscored the importance of providing policymakers and other users with timely, relevant, and reliable data. At the NBS, the adoption of an innovation-centric approach aligns with the African Development Bank’s Data Innovation Lab (DIL) initiative and the African Centre for Statistics’ roadmap for modernizing official statistics in Africa.
The NBS has established a Data Innovation Desk to monitor and advance data innovation initiatives across its processes. This effort aims to deliver development-critical data to users in a timely and user-friendly manner. Regarding the theme of the celebration, Adeniran noted progress made by NBS, particularly in the 2022 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS-6), which expanded data collection to include children aged three and above, thereby enhancing early childhood development information in alignment with the National Education Policy.
The NBS has also supported several educational development programs, such as the Better Edu
cation Service Delivery for All (BESDA) and a pilot program utilizing technology to improve the collation, validation, and dissemination of administrative statistics across Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). Supported by the World Bank, this initiative will start with 15 MDAs, focusing initially on education statistics. The expected outcome is a significant improvement in the quality and accessibility of education statistics in Nigeria, benefiting policymakers and program implementers.
UNICEF’s Education Manager in Nigeria, Jutaro Sakamoto, highlighted the need for improved education data in Nigeria, noting that current data is often inaccurate, untimely, and not effectively used for decision-making. Sakamoto warned that these deficiencies could undermine policy effectiveness and accountability. He reiterated UNICEF’s commitment to supporting the Nigerian government in transforming the education data governance ecosystem.