Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has waded into the brewing crisis at the Federal Ministry of Education, cautioning that calls for the removal of Minister Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa will not resolve the sector’s systemic challenges.
Pantami’s intervention follows recent agitations and protests by some ministry staff demanding the removal of the education minister.
However, the former minister strongly defended Alausa’s track record, ranking him among the top three performers in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet for vision, impact, and execution.
Highlighting the gains of the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), Pantami pointed to significant milestones achieved under Alausa’s watch, including the bold transition from certificate based learning to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) which has enrolled over 150,000 trainees across 1,600 centers.
He also noted the integration of training in Artificial Intelligence, robotics, renewable energy, and cybersecurity, alongside the launch of the Digital Academy and automated result verification portals.
Furthermore, teacher-centric initiatives have been advanced, such as extending the retirement age for teachers to 65, establishing the Edurevamp professional platform, and committing to cover Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) licensing fees for public school educators.
While acknowledging the frustrations of the ministry staff whom he described as patriotic Nigerians and the engine room of the ongoing reforms, Pantami noted that many of the workers’ grievances regarding welfare, promotions, and funding often involve complex inter ministerial approvals and fiscal processes that extend beyond the direct power of the minister alone.
Offering his sincere empathy to any aggrieved worker, Pantami appealed for a shift from discord to dialogue. He urged the ministry leadership, through the Permanent Secretary, to convene a roundtable with staff unions to amicably resolve all legitimate concerns, warning that truncation of the current reform momentum would serve no collective good.
