Governors across Nigeria have raised serious concerns over the deteriorating state of education in the country, warning that without immediate interventions, the sector faces further decline.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, issued this warning on Thursday during a State-Level Workshop on Foundational Learning and Out-of-School Children held in Abuja.
Speaking through the NGF's Education Advisor, Leo The Great, Governor AbdulRazaq described the situation as critical, stating: "Nigeria is faced with a crisis. We are dealing with some out-of-school children. However, enrollment in school for most children does not translate into actual learning."
The governor cited alarming nationwide statistics showing a 66% out-of-school rate among primary school-age children. He attributed this trend to poor learning outcomes, high dropout rates, and weak transition and completion levels across the country.
"Foundational skills are not merely the end goal of an educational system; they are also critical building blocks for achieving other educational objectives, including retention and progression from one level to the next," he emphasized.
Systemic Gaps in Nigeria's Education Sector
According to AbdulRazaq, the education workforce remains both insufficient and undervalued, a situation made worse by chronic underfunding of the basic education sector and inadequate national governance frameworks.
The NGF chairman highlighted multiple systemic gaps plaguing the sector, including lack of proper teacher training, absence of appropriate learning materials, weak local capacity for monitoring and evaluation, insufficient infrastructure, low community awareness, and lack of commitment among stakeholders.
He expressed hope that the workshop would catalyze stronger commitment among policymakers at both federal and state levels to address these challenges.
"The Nigerian Governors Forum expects this workshop to strengthen motivation for federal and state policymakers in driving and sustaining evidence-based reforms to improve implementation of foundational learning and reduce the out-of-school children challenges across the states of the federation," he stated.
UBEC Acknowledges Persistent Challenges
Also speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Aisha Garba, acknowledged that Nigeria's education system continues to struggle with deep-rooted issues despite various interventions.
Garba, represented by UBEC Deputy Secretary (Technical), Rasaq Akinyemi, emphasized the urgent need to build on past achievements and deliver inclusive education to all children regardless of their location or background.
"Despite ongoing political and systemic barriers, Nigeria's education system still battles deep-rooted challenges," she noted, adding that every Nigerian child deserves access to quality education.
Earlier this year, the Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, while defending the 2025 education budget before the National Assembly, described the number of out-of-school children as "mind-boggling and disturbing." He assured that the federal government was working closely with state governors to address this pressing issue.
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