On October 15, 2025, the Nigerian educational ecosystem experienced a seismic shift. The Federal Ministry of Education, under the leadership of Dr. Tunji Alausa, declared that senior secondary school students in the Arts and Humanities streams would no longer be required to present a credit pass in Mathematics for admission into universities and polytechnics.
Framed as a bold reform to “remove barriers” and expand access from approximately 700,000 to one million annual admissions, the policy was met with applause from certain quarters, hailed as a long-overdue democratisation of tertiary education. The Minister positioned it as a cornerstone of the “Renewed Hope Agenda,” a necessary corrective to “outdated and overly stringent entry requirements.”
However, beneath the surface of this populist measure lies a complex and potentially perilous paradox. At the very historical moment when the global economy is being radically reshaped by technologies that demand computational thinking, data literacy, and quantitative reasoning, Nigeria has chosen to de-emphasise the foundational discipline that underpins them all officially. This rejoinder argues that while the goal of expanding access is laudable, the method chosen is a catastrophic misstep from my viewpoint, and one that risks trading short-term political gains for long-term economic irrelevance. By severing the formal link between the Arts and Mathematics, Nigeria is not merely adjusting an admission requirement; it is fundamentally misunderstanding the nature of 21st-century skills, the transformative role of the teacher, and the very definition of a competitive education in the age of AI.
The Global Context: What Advanced Economies Understand About Education as a Growth Strategy
To fully grasp the implications of Nigeria’s decision, one must first understand the global consensus that is rapidly crystallising among advanced and emerging economies. I like to correctly posit that “teachers are the invisible infrastructure of every economy.” This is not a mere platitude; it is an economic fact borne out by rigorous research. The Frontier Economics study in the UK, which links a one standard deviation improvement in teaching quality to a 0.7-0.8% increase in annual GDP, is a testament to this. Similarly, the US study highlighting a $200+ billion annual economic boost from improved math performance underscores a universal truth: human capital, cultivated by quality teaching, is the ultimate driver of prosperity.
Nations like Finland, Singapore, and South Korea, consistently lauded for their educational outcomes, have built their systems on a bedrock of rigour, inclusivity, and future-facing skills. In these countries, there is no dichotomy between the sciences and the arts in the foundational stages of education. A student in Finland, regardless of their eventual specialisation, is expected to develop a strong competency in numeracy and literacy. The curriculum is designed to produce well-rounded citizens, not prematurely channelled specialists. The UAE’s recent commitment to hosting the Global Teacher Prize at the World Government Summit signals a strategic intent to position education and educator prestige at the centre of national development.
These nations are not reducing mathematical requirements; they are intensifying them. They recognise that in the automated economy, the value of a human worker shifts from manual execution to cognitive management. The “mother of all professions”, the teacher, is therefore tasked with nurturing a new generation of thinkers who are not just consumers of technology, but its architects, critics, and ethical guides. This requires a citizenry that is fluent in the language of logic, patterns, and data, the native language of mathematics.
Deconstructing the Nigerian Decision: The Siren Song of Expanded Access
The Federal Ministry’s argument is seductively simple: over two million candidates sit for the UTME annually, but only 700,000 gain admission. By removing Mathematics as a barrier for Arts students, an additional 250,000 to 300,000 young Nigerians can enter tertiary institutions each year. On its face, this appears to be a victory for equity and opportunity.
Yet, this reasoning is fundamentally flawed from my perspective because it mistakes the symptom for the disease. The bottleneck in Nigerian tertiary education is not primarily the stringency of subject requirements; it is a catastrophic deficit in infrastructure, teaching quality, and institutional capacity. The problem is not that 1.3 million students fail to meet the academic standard; it is that the system lacks the physical space, qualified lecturers, and learning resources to accommodate them. The policy effectively lowers the bar to allow more people into a room that is already bursting at the seams, rather than investing in building a larger, more robust structure.
This approach creates a dangerous illusion of progress. It increases the number of admissions without addressing the quality of education these students will receive. It risks producing a generation of Arts and Humanities graduates who, lacking the analytical and quantitative skills now deemed non-essential, are even less prepared for the modern workplace than their predecessors. We are solving an access problem, but in doing so, we may potentially create an employability crisis for the future.
The AI Imperative: Why Mathematics is the New Literacy for All Disciplines
The most critical failure of this policy is its timing, coinciding with the most significant technological disruption since the industrial revolution: the rise of Artificial Intelligence. The minister’s decision appears to be rooted in a 20th-century industrial mindset, where professions were neatly siloed, and an Arts graduate could comfortably exist in a world of pure prose and philosophy.
Let me remind the HFMOE that the 21st-century reality is starkly different. Why? AI is not just a tool for scientists and engineers; it is a pervasive force reshaping every field, including the Arts and Humanities. Let us consider the following:
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- A historian today must be able to navigate and critically assess vast digital archives, understand the algorithms that curate their search results, and use data visualisation tools to identify historical patterns. Without a foundation in statistics and logic, they are at the mercy of the technology.
- A literary critic analysing trends in modern literature will find themselves confronted with “big data”, millions of books, reviews, and social media posts. Computational literary analysis, which uses mathematical models to study style, theme, and influence, is becoming a central methodology. An aversion to numbers renders one illiterate in this new critical landscape.
- A musician or filmmaker now relies on data analytics for audience segmentation, marketing strategies, and even for informing creative decisions on streaming platforms. Understanding metrics, algorithms, and predictive models is crucial for commercial and artistic success.
- A policy analyst or sociologist in the Humanities must be adept at interpreting demographic data, economic indicators, and social surveys. Crafting effective public policy without the ability to analyse quantitative data rigorously is a recipe for failure.
In the age of AI, mathematics is not about solving quadratic equations for their own sake. It is about cultivating a mindset, a structured approach to problem-solving, the ability to think in algorithms, the capacity to discern truth from falsehood in a world awash with data-driven propaganda, and the logical rigour to deconstruct complex systems. By making Mathematics optional for Arts students, the Nigerian education system is sending a dangerous message: that these skills are optional for the custodians of our culture, history, law, and governance. This is not just an educational misstep; it is a national security threat in an information-driven world.
The Teacher as the Keystone: Investing in the True “Invisible Infrastructure”
Let me restate this common phrase again: “before a scientist invents, before an engineer builds, before an entrepreneur launches, each sits in a classroom.” This profound truth underscores the monumental failure of imagination in the new policy. The solution to Nigeria’s education crisis is not to lower the standards for students, but to radically elevate the capacity and status of its teachers.
The real “barrier” to quality education in Nigeria is not the mathematics paper; it is the chronic under-investment in the teaching profession. The UK’s Education Policy Institute estimates that a £4 billion investment in teacher professional development yields a £61 billion societal return. Where is Nigeria’s equivalent commitment? The policy focuses on the output (admission numbers) while ignoring the input and the process (teacher quality and pedagogical effectiveness).
A truly visionary policy would have taken the billions of Naira that will be spent on managing the increased admissions and invested it in a national strategic plan for teachers:
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- Robust Professional Development:Intensive, ongoing training for Mathematics teachers to move beyond rote learning and instil genuine conceptual understanding and a love for the subject in all students, including those in the Arts.
- Contextualised Curriculum:Redesigning the Mathematics curriculum for senior secondary schools to show its practical, relevant applications in the Arts and Humanities. How does probability relate to political forecasting? How does geometry underpin classical art and architecture? How can logic deconstruct a legal argument?
- Competitive Remuneration and Status:Making the teaching profession aspirational by offering salaries and benefits commensurate with its monumental economic importance, thereby attracting the best and brightest minds to shape the next generation.
This is the “economic imperative” that the initial material champions. By bypassing the teacher and simply tweaking admission rules, the government is attempting to build a skyscraper without reinforcing the foundation. The invisible infrastructure is being neglected, and the entire national project is thereby weakened.
A Path Forward: Recommendations for a Future-Proof Nigerian Education System
To avert the long-term damage of this policy, a more nuanced, strategic, and forward-thinking approach is required. The goal of expanded access is correct, but the method must be aligned with the demands of the global economy. The following recommendations propose a course correction:
First, Rebrand Mathematics as a Foundational Skill, Not a Gatekeeper. The problem may not be that Mathematics is required, but how it is taught. The Ministry should initiate a national project to reform Mathematics pedagogy, making it more applied, interactive, and relevant to diverse fields of endeavour. The subject should be presented as the key to unlocking a world of creativity and critical analysis, not as a hazing ritual.
Second, Implement a Tiered Certification System. Rather than a blanket removal of the requirement, a more sophisticated system could be introduced. For instance, all students could be required to achieve a “pass” or “foundational competency” level in Mathematics, demonstrating basic numeracy and data literacy. In contrast, only students of science and social science would need a “credit” for higher-level analytical work. This maintains a baseline standard for all citizens.
Third, Invest in the Teacher, Not Just the Rulebook. Launch a “National Mission for Teachers” focused on competitive recruitment, world-class training, dignified remuneration, and the provision of modern teaching tools. This is the most critical investment in national growth Nigeria can make. As the research shows, the return on investment in teacher quality dwarfs almost any other public expenditure.
Fourth, Integrate Digital and AI Literacy Across the Curriculum. The new admission guidelines should be accompanied by a mandatory cross-curricular module on Digital Citizenship and AI Literacy for all tertiary students, regardless of discipline. This module would cover the basics of how algorithms work, data privacy, ethical AI use, and critical thinking in the digital space—all of which are grounded in mathematical concepts.
Fifth, Encourage Interdisciplinary Learning from an Early Age. Break down the artificial walls between the Arts and Sciences in secondary school. Project-based learning that requires students to use mathematical reasoning to solve a historical mystery or statistical analysis to critique a social trend can demonstrate the inherent interconnectedness of knowledge.
Conclusion
The decision to remove Mathematics as a compulsory requirement for Arts students is a policy born of a bygone era. It is a reaction to immediate political pressures that fundamentally misreads the trajectory of global development. In seeking to solve a problem of access, it creates a far greater problem of relevance and competitiveness.
Nigeria needs to build for the future, not the past, and one path, the one recently taken, offers the illusion of quick wins, more students in universities, more statistics to tout. The other path, the harder but more necessary one, demands a long-term, strategic investment in the very core of the education system: the curriculum, the infrastructure, and above all, the teacher. This path recognises that in the 21st century, an Arts student who cannot engage with data is as handicapped as a Science student who cannot write a coherent report.
The “invisible infrastructure” of teachers is ready to build the future. They are prepared to nurture the curiosity, knowledge, and character that will propel Nigeria into a new age of innovation and prosperity. However, they cannot achieve this with policies that diminish the intellectual toolkit we provide our children. It is time to recalibrate and recognise that a proper growth strategy does not lie in lowering standards. Still, in elevating our people, that begins by empowering our teachers to equip every single student, artist, and scientist alike with the full arsenal of skills needed to thrive in a complex, automated, and data-driven world. The world is moving towards integration; Nigeria’s education must not retreat into fragmentation because our economic future depends on it.
