• Rollout to start in secondary schools and campuses, expanding nationwide in phases

• Surveys show rising youth drug use, with some states reporting up to 50% affected

Nigeria’s federal government on Tuesday introduced three new policies aimed at improving the education system and addressing obstacles to student performance, including a national plan to curb drug use in schools. The policies were presented at the TETFund auditorium in Abuja during an event attended by federal officials, state representatives and technical partners, according to the education ministry.

Education Minister Maruf Tunji Alausa described the initiative as an important step toward a more coordinated national approach to education. He stressed the need for practical implementation focused on prevention, awareness and enforcement.

Details of how the policies will be rolled out have not yet been released. However, the government noted that last July the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the education ministry agreed to introduce drug education in secondary schools and to require drug testing in higher education institutions.

Implementation will be phased, beginning with secondary schools and university campuses before expanding nationwide. The initiative comes amid growing concern over rising use of psychotropic substances among young people. Recent data underscores the scale of the problem.

In Lagos, a 2024 survey conducted by the ministry in partnership with the NDLEA and cited by Nairametrics found that 13.6 percent of secondary school students have experimented with drugs and that 6.9 percent use them regularly. In the higher education sector, the NDLEA reported in June that in some states between 40 and 50 percent of students are affected.

Félicien Houindo Lokossou