The Federal Government (FG) has abandoned the long-standing reliance on projections and estimates, opting instead for a nationwide household mapping exercise to identify every out-of-school child and return them to the classroom.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, stated this yesterday in Kaduna where he announced that the FG has adopted Kaduna State’s household mapping model as the national framework for identifying out-of-school children across the country’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory ,FCT.
The exercise, to be carried out in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), will generate verified household-level data showing the exact number of out-of-school children, where they live and the families they belong to, ending years of dependence on broad statistical estimates.
He unveiled the initiative during a meeting with Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, describing the new strategy as a game-changing intervention capable of transforming Nigeria’s response to one of its most pressing education challenges.
According to the minister, inaccurate projections have for years hampered effective planning and resource allocation, making it difficult for governments to identify and reach children who are outside the school system.
He said the new approach would provide reliable data to support evidence-based policymaking, targeted interventions and effective monitoring of progress in reducing the number of out-of-school children nationwide.
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“We are moving away from assumptions to facts. This exercise will tell us exactly where these children are and the households they belong to, enabling the government to design interventions that directly reach those who need them most,” the minister said.
Alausa cited Kaduna State as evidence of the effectiveness of the model, revealing that while previous national estimates placed the state’s out-of-school population at about 585,000, the household mapping exercise conducted by the state government established that the actual figure is less than 200,000.
“With this exercise, we now know where these children are and the households they belong to. That gives us the opportunity to work closely with the Kaduna State Government to bring them back to school,” he stated.
The minister praised Governor Uba Sani for pioneering what he described as a data-driven model that has provided a clearer understanding of the out-of-school challenge and demonstrated how accurate information can improve educational planning and service delivery.
He disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education had already commenced collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics to replicate the Kaduna model nationwide, expressing confidence that the exercise would enable governments to deploy resources more efficiently and achieve measurable reductions in the number of out-of-school children.
Governor Uba Sani, in his remarks, applauded the Minister of Education and the Minister of State for Education for the ongoing reforms in the education sector, describing their leadership as visionary and impactful.
He also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for prioritising education under the Renewed Hope Agenda, saying the Federal Government’s commitment had created the momentum for transformative reforms across the country.
The governor reaffirmed Kaduna State’s readiness to continue partnering with the Federal Ministry of Education to expand access to quality education, describing education as the most strategic investment any government could make for national development.
He expressed delight that Kaduna’s household mapping initiative had now become the national template for tackling the out-of-school children challenge.
