By Ishola Michael
The National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) represented Nigeria at the UNESCO/Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX) Global Education Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
According to a statement signed by Bodunde Tenabe, Dr. Yusuf Oluwaseun Tajudeen, an Assistant Chief Statistician at NIEPA, represented the country at the five-day high-level workshop held from June 29 to July 3, 2026.
The summit formed part of the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX) programme, administered by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, and implemented by Teachers College, Columbia University, in collaboration with NORRAG at the Geneva Graduate Institute.
The event was co-sponsored by the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) under the project, Institutional Support for Promoting the Use of Research Evidence in Policy and Planning in GPE Partner Countries.
It brought together about 40 education policy experts and analysts from 25 countries to explore strategies for strengthening evidence-based education policy and planning.
The statement said Nigeria’s participation reflected the Federal Government’s commitment to improving educational planning through data-driven policies, in line with ongoing reforms led by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Said Ahmad.
It also acknowledged the leadership of the Director-General of NIEPA, Dr. David Shofoyeke, and the support of the Deputy Director of Educational Planning, Research and Development at the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Mrs. Ujah, in facilitating the country’s participation.
Dr. Yusuf’s participation followed several months of technical engagement under the programme’s Learning Cycle 2, themed The Use of Data to Improve Quality and Equity in Education. He worked alongside other NIEPA researchers, Dr. Nojeem O. Oresajo and Mrs. Aghadiuno Ijeoma Gloria.
As part of the programme, the Nigerian team developed a policy brief titled Teacher Quality as a Binding Constraint to Foundational Learning in Nigeria’s Primary Education (P1–P3), drawing on national and international data to examine challenges affecting foundational learning in the country.
The statement noted that the policy brief was developed to international publication standards and contributed to discussions on improving teacher quality and learning outcomes in primary education.
Participants at the summit included representatives from countries across Africa, Asia and Europe, including Senegal, Togo, Uganda, Cambodia, Pakistan and Ukraine.
According to the statement, insights from the summit are expected to support ongoing efforts to strengthen teacher recruitment, professional development and foundational literacy in Nigeria through evidence-based policy reforms.
