NCNE says 5.2 million nomadic children shut out of school across Nigeria

No fewer than 5.2 million children from nomadic communities are currently out of school across Nigeria, with occupational mobility, climate change, and limited access to conventional schools identified as the primary drivers of the exclusion.

Dr. Umar Ardo, Director of Extension Education and Skills Development at the National Commission for Nomadic Education, disclosed this on Monday during a stakeholders engagement organised by the National Commission for Almajiri and Out of School Children Education in Kaduna.

The affected children include those of nomadic pastoralists, migrant fishermen, and migrant farmers whose lifestyles make regular school attendance difficult or impossible.

What the commission is saying

Ardo said recent research conducted by the commission across six states and the Federal Capital Territory identified more than 61,000 nomadic out-of-school children in Jigawa, Gombe, Niger, Enugu, Cross River, Oyo, and the FCT alone.

He said urgent measures were needed, particularly through alternative learning pathways suited to nomadic communities.

• He identified the Accelerated Basic Education Programme as one approach capable of helping children complete basic education within three years instead of the conventional six, with equivalent learning outcomes that allow learners to progress to secondary school or acquire vocational skills.

Ardo said the commission was working with state governments and development partners to reduce the number of nomadic out-of-school children, including developing strategies with states like Kaduna to establish learning centres closer to nomadic communities.

• “Children who could not proceed to secondary education should receive vocational training relevant to their communities and interests,” he said, listing livestock rearing, fishing, and farming as skills that…