The Power of Youth in Co-Creating Education What Nigeria’s Latest Evidence is Really Saying

The 2026 International Day of Education theme “The Power of Youth in Co-Creating Education” is not a rhetorical flourish. It is a direct challenge to how education systems are designed, governed, and renewed. For Nigeria, a country with one of the youngest populations in the world, the theme arrives at a critical moment. It asks a difficult but necessary question. Can Nigeria meaningfully reform education without systematically involving the young people who experience its strengths and failures every day?

Over the past year, Nigeria’s education landscape has been shaped by an unusual convergence of evidence: outcomes from the Nigeria Education Forum (NEF) 2025 Summit, public debates on education financing, expenditure and institutional reviews, and multiple diagnostics from development partners such as UNESCO and the World Bank. Read together, these sources reveal a consistent message which says that; ‘while investment and policy activity are increasing, relevance, skills alignment, and youth ownership remain unresolved gaps’.

From Bigger Budgets to Better Outcomes

The NEF 2025 Summit, convened by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education and development partners, marked an important shift in tone. Discussions moved beyond access and enrollment to focus on learning outcomes, system efficiency, safe schools, and workforce relevance. Several states reported increased education allocations, and national figures indicate a rise in combined federal and state education spending.

Yet, as repeatedly emphasised during the Summit, funding alone does not guarantee results. Nigeria’s challenge is no longer simply how much is spent on education, but how effectively resources are deployed, governed, and translated into improved teaching and learning. This shift is reinforced by the recent Education Sector Expenditure and Institutional Reviews, including sub-national analyses supported by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Bills and Melinda Gates Foundation which actively participated as the Lead Consultant. These reviews highlight familiar structural constraints including fragmented financing, weak accountability, uneven capacity across states, and limited linkage between spending decisions and learning outcomes. In simple terms, Nigeria is investing more, but not always investing smartly.

What Youth Experience Is Telling Us

Perhaps the most compelling evidence supporting the 2026 theme comes directly from young people themselves. Recent youth-focused studies and surveys, including tertiary education diagnostics, point to a persistent confidence gap. A significant proportion of students report low readiness for the labour market upon graduation, while many indicate that they acquire critical employability skills through self-directed learning outside the formal education system.

This is not an indictment of students; it is an indictment of system relevance. When learners feel compelled to supplement their education independently, it signals that formal curricula are lagging behind economic and social realities. In effect, young people are already co-creating their education but informally, without institutional recognition or support.

Ignoring this reality weakens reform efforts. Harnessing it, on the other hand, offers an opportunity to redesign education systems that are adaptive, responsive, and future-oriented.

Skills, Employability, and the 21st-Century Imperative

At the policy level, there is growing alignment around skills development. The Federal Ministry of Education has advanced national conversations on skills-based education, vocational pathways, and stronger school-to-work linkages. Development partners echo this direction. UNESCO continues to emphasise quality education, TVET reform, and lifelong learning, while the World Bank has consistently highlighted digital skills, critical thinking, and adaptability as core competencies for the modern economy.

However, global evidence is clear: skills strategies succeed only when learners and employers are actively involved in their design and delivery. Programmes developed without student insight risk being technically sound but practically misaligned. Youth co-creation, therefore, is not a symbolic gesture; it is a governance reform that improves relevance and impact.

Co-Creation as a Systemic Reform Tool

For youth participation to matter, it must be institutionalised. Token consultations and ceremonial youth panels are insufficient. What Nigeria requires are deliberate, system-level mechanisms that embed learner voice into decision-making, perhaps through: 1. Structured student and graduate input into curriculum reviews

2. Learner experience surveys integrated into quality assurance and accreditation

3. Transparent school-to-work indicators for tertiary institutions

4. Recognition of informal and digital learning through micro-credentials

5. Youth representation in education advisory and reform platforms Equally important, co-creation demands responsibility on both sides. Young people must be equipped with the civic, leadership, and communication skills needed for constructive engagement.

The Nigerian Choice

Nigeria’s education conversation is evolving from access to outcomes, from certificates to skills, from funding levels to value for money. The 2026 International Day of Education theme crystallises the next step in this evolution.

The question is no longer whether young people matter to education reform—they always have. The real test is whether institutions are prepared to share space, listen deliberately, and redesign education as a partnership rather than a prescription.

Education systems built without learner agency struggle to remain relevant. Those built with youth as partners are more likely to deliver ownership, accountability, and long-term impact. If Nigeria is serious about building an education system fit for the 21st century, empowering youth to co-create education is not optional. It is a strategic necessity and one the evidence increasingly supports.

Dahiru, Ph.D, sent this piece from University of Abuja, He can be reached via [email protected]

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