Nigeria’s Minister of Education has sparked a fierce national debate after announcing plans to phase out university programmes he described as disconnected from the country’s economic future, with social science disciplines in the direct line of fire.
Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa made the declaration on Sunday, April 26, while speaking at the “Renewed Hope Conversation” at the University of Abuja. He warned students outright that several courses were misleading them. “We are phasing out some of these courses that are deceiving you, bringing you to school to learn things that we know won’t be needed. We are training you in market-relevant courses. And a lot of you, with due respect to you people doing social sciences, there are not going to be jobs for you in the future,” he stated.
Alausa also cautioned students against using the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to finance degrees in these disciplines. “Don’t take a NELFUND loan that you know will not make it. I am talking with vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts over this. We will phase out some of these courses that were deceiving you with,” he said.
The minister stressed that the government’s priority is to equip students with practical, employable skills, saying the aim is to train graduates to be entrepreneurs rather than job seekers. Key components of the reform agenda include embedding Artificial Intelligence (AI), data science, and digital skills across all levels of education, and making the Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Incubation Certification (EPIC) compulsory in all tertiary institutions by 2027.
The announcement drew immediate pushback from academic unions and parent associations. Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, National President of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA), warned that outright scrapping could do more harm than good, arguing that what should be on the table is the evolution of courses to match current realities rather than wholesale elimination.
Dr. Makolo Hassan of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) questioned the basis for measuring “relevance,” noting that many humanities and languages graduates go on to successful careers and that relevance lies in curriculum content rather than course titles. Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, President of the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), urged the government to exercise caution to protect parents’ financial investments.
Despite the backlash, the minister maintained that education reform is non-negotiable. He did not provide a specific list of the courses to be scrapped, which has added to stakeholder anxiety, particularly within the social sciences and humanities.
