10.2m Primary School Age Children Out of School in Nigeria — UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that Nigeria now has an alarming 10.2 million out-of-school children at the primary school level. The North-West region alone contributes 16 percent of this staggering figure, which includes children from Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states.

Rahama Farah, the Chief of UNICEF’s Field Office in Kano, made the disclosure on Friday while commemorating the 2025 International Day of Education (IDE) in Kano. Citing the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), Farah highlighted that Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states alone account for a significant portion of Nigeria’s out-of-school children, with the figures at 989,234, 337,861, and 536,112, respectively.

While expressing concern over the lack of access to education, Farah also emphasized the poor quality of education, even among children who are enrolled. This is further worsened by low learning outcomes, including the inability to read and understand simple sentences or solve basic arithmetic problems.

According to the MICS 2021 report, only 1 out of 4 children in Nigeria between the ages of 7 and 14 can perform basic literacy or numeracy tasks. In the three states of Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina, the situation is particularly dire, with foundational learning rates standing at 11 percent or lower, based on tests conducted by the Federal Ministry of Education in 2022.

However, Farah pointed out that UNICEF has made strides to address the educational crisis over the past year. Efforts have included expanding access to education for children from vulnerable families, supporting cash transfers to these families, improving educational infrastructure, and partnering with communities, traditional leaders, and policymakers to encourage school enrollment.

In light of these challenges, Farah called on state governors, particularly in the North-West, to prioritize education by ensuring that appropriated funds for the sector are released and spent appropriately to eliminate the barriers preventing children from attending school.