Out-of-school children crisis deepens as UNICEF identifies northern states driving Nigeria’s alarming education gap, calling for urgent early learning investment.
Jigawa, Kano, and Katsina states have emerged as epicentres of Nigeria’s growing out-of-school children crisis, as UNICEF warns that urgent investment in early childhood education is critical to reversing the trend.
Nigeria currently accounts for approximately 18.3 million out-of-school children – the highest figure globally – with the three northern states contributing nearly 30 per cent of the total, according to data presented at a regional media dialogue.
The disclosure was made by Aisha Abdullahi, an education consultant with the UNICEF Kano Field Office, during a two-day engagement with journalists from the affected states.
Presenting a paper on foundational learning and skills development, Abdullahi attributed the crisis to a mix of poverty, insecurity, cultural barriers, and poor school readiness, stressing the need for a shift in strategy.
She identified Early Childhood Care, Development and Education (ECCDE) as a long-term solution capable of preventing children from dropping out before entering formal schooling.
“Early childhood education is not just a preparatory stage but a strategic intervention to reduce the number of out-of-school children,” she said.
ECCDE programmes, which target children from birth to age five, are designed to build cognitive, emotional, and social capacity. According to Abdullahi, children exposed to early learning are more likely to enrol, remain in school, and complete their education, while those without such exposure are twice as likely to drop out.
She further cited research showing that nearly 90 per cent of brain development occurs before age five, underscoring the importance of early intervention in shaping long-term educational outcomes.
Despite existing policies integrating one year of pre-primary education into Nigeria’s Universal Basic Education framework, access to ECCDE remains limited, particularly in rural communities.
Evidence presented at the dialogue showed that communities with functional ECCDE centres record up to 40 per cent higher enrolment into Primary One, alongside improved retention rates.
The UNICEF expert also highlighted the role of early childhood education in promoting girls’ education, noting that early exposure can help delay pressures such as early marriage while boosting parental involvement, especially among mothers.
However, stakeholders expressed concern over the low participation of fathers in early learning, with less than 15 per cent actively involved across the region. They noted that increasing male engagement could reduce dropout rates by as much as 50 per cent, given fathers’ influence in household decision-making.
Participants recommended targeted advocacy through community structures, including religious institutions, alongside structured father-child engagement programmes.
They also called for urgent policy reforms, including expanding ECCDE centres across all primary schools, dedicating at least five per cent of education budgets to early learning, training more teachers, and integrating traditional and religious education systems.
Stakeholders maintained that strengthening early childhood education through sustained investment and improved delivery remains the most effective pathway to addressing Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis.
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