FG raises fresh alarm: 15m Nigerian children out of school

By Golok Nanmwa

JOS – The federal government has raised fresh concern over Nigeria’s worsening out-of-school children crisis, disclosing that about 15 million children were currently out of school.

The government, however, said it had intensified nationwide efforts to tackle the crisis through data-driven reforms, stronger collaboration and targeted investments aimed at expanding access to education and improving learning outcomes.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, who disclosed this at the 2026 Basic Education in Nigeria Bootcamp held in Jos, Plateau State, said credible education data and accurate learner tracking remained critical to solving Nigeria’s long-standing education challenges, including persistent gaps in foundational literacy and numeracy.

He said: “Reliable data remains the backbone of effective education reform. Without knowing where the children are and why they are out of school, meaningful solutions cannot be implemented.”

The minister disclosed that the federal ministry of education was expanding the Digital National Education Management Information System, NEMIS, and accelerating the rollout of the Learner Identification Number, LIN, to enable real-time tracking of learners nationwide.

According to him, the 2025/2026 annual school census has already captured over two million learners, generating critical insights to guide policy decisions, improve enrolment strategies and strengthen accountability.

He added that nearly one million out-of-school children had been mapped for reintegration into formal schools and alternative learning pathways.

Alausa further disclosed that between January 2025 and January 2026, states accessed over N106 billion in Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, matching grants to strengthen basic education delivery nationwide.

He added that N22 billion had also been invested in teacher professional development, leading to the training of about 978,000 teachers across the country.

According to him, more than 10,000 classrooms have been renovated, while 7.8 million textbooks have been distributed to improve learning conditions.

The minister said the government was also targeting vulnerable groups through strengthened Almajiri and non-formal education programmes.

He disclosed that 1,400 Tsangaya teachers had been trained, 119 learning centres identified nationwide and 760 enumerators deployed to improve community-level education data and planning.

In her remarks, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, described the bootcamp as a critical platform for addressing persistent challenges in basic education.

She said initiatives, such as LUMINA 2030, EduRevamp, Skill-Up and Communities of Practice, were designed to strengthen curriculum delivery, enhance teacher capacity, expand digital learning and improve monitoring systems nationwide.

Also speaking, Plateau State governor, Caleb Mutfwang, who was represented by his Deputy Governor Josephine Piyo, warned that out-of-school children crisis posed serious social and economic risks, including poverty, insecurity and social exclusion.

He highlighted the state government’s efforts to improve access to education through the construction and renovation of classrooms, provision of water facilities and supply of learning resources.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Abel O. Enitan, who was represented by the Director of Basic Education and convener of the event, Dr. Mrs. Folake Olatunji-Davis, said the bootcamp was designed to move beyond policy dialogue to actionable solutions.

She said stakeholders were brought together to identify gaps, share experiences and develop measurable strategies for identifying, reintegrating and retaining out-of-school children in the education system.

Delivering the lead paper, education expert, Titus Syengo, described the out-of-school children crisis as a national emergency, saying about 18.5 million children were currently out of school in Nigeria, against the 15 million declared by government.

He stressed that Nigeria’s education reforms were critical to Africa’s broader development because of the country’s size and influence on the continent.

The federal ministry of education reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring inclusive, equitable and quality education for all Nigerian children through credible data, sustained investment and coordinated national action.

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