The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has pushed back against concerns that Nigerian students are increasingly leaving the country for foreign universities, insisting that the trend has significantly reduced under the current administration.

He made the remarks on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television, where he argued that recent reforms and improved stability in the education sector have made Nigerian tertiary institutions more attractive to students.

Alausa was responding to a question referencing 2023 global education mobility data, which ranked Nigeria third worldwide in student migration behind China and India, with Nigerian students accounting for about five percent of international student movement.

However, the minister dismissed the figures as outdated, insisting they do not reflect the present realities in the country’s education system.

“That’s not Japa. And please, qualify your data. Thank God you told me it was a 2023 figure,” he said.

He explained that 2023 was a particularly difficult period for Nigeria’s education sector, marked by disruptions in academic calendars and limited investment in tertiary institutions.

According to him, those challenges contributed to increased student migration at the time, but the situation has now improved.

“2023 was when we came in. There was no academic continuity… the kind of extensive investment in tertiary education wasn’t there,” he added.

“More Students Are Now Staying Back” — Minister

Alausa said data being tracked by the Federal Ministry of Education suggests a noticeable drop in the number of Nigerian students seeking admission into foreign universities.

He claimed that improved academic stability across Nigerian institutions has played a key role in restoring confidence in local education.

“We’ve seen a precipitous drop in the number of students going out. Our tertiary institutions are better now. We have academic continuity,” he said.

The minister also pointed to reforms aimed at stabilising academic calendars as a major factor influencing student decisions to remain in Nigeria.

He highlighted programmes such as the Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB), describing it as a local alternative to international pre-university qualifications like British A-levels.

According to him, more students who would previously have travelled abroad for foundation programmes are now enrolling in Nigerian institutions, leading to increased demand for such courses.

Alausa added that some top institutions, including the University of Lagos, are now experiencing oversubscription in competitive programmes such as law, with many applicants turned away due to limited space.

“Kids are staying there. The quality of education is significantly better,” he said, adding that comparing 2023 data with more recent figures would show a “precipitous drop” in outbound student migration.

The minister maintained that ongoing improvements in the education sector are gradually reversing the trend of student emigration and strengthening confidence in local universities.