Abuja: The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced that the Ministry of Education will adopt the household mapping model pioneered by Kaduna State for a nationwide rollout aimed at accurately identifying out-of-school children and facilitating their reintegration into the educational system.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Alausa made this disclosure through a statement released on Thursday in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr. Ikharo Attah. The proposed approach aims to replace planning based on estimates with precise household-level data to ascertain the exact number of out-of-school children, pinpoint their locations, and identify the households they belong to.
The exercise, which will be conducted in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), is set to cover all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Alausa emphasized that the initiative will empower governments at all levels to design targeted interventions and deploy resources more effectively.
Alausa’s announcement follows a meeting with the Governor of Kaduna State, Sen. Uba Sani, marking a significant step towards addressing one of Nigeria’s most pressing educational challenges. Historically, planning relied heavily on projections that failed to accurately indicate the locations of out-of-school children. The new mapping exercise aims to rectify this by providing verified data to guide policy decisions and ensure interventions reach the children most in need.
The minister cited the situation in Kaduna as a case in point, where previous estimates suggested that approximately 585,000 children were out of school. However, the state’s household mapping exercise revealed a much lower figure, fewer than 200,000. This new data provides an opportunity for collaboration between the federal and Kaduna State governments to bring these children back to school.
Alausa praised Governor Sani for introducing the model, noting how accurate data has improved decision-making and service delivery in the education sector. He added that the ministry is already working with the NBS to replicate the methodology on a national scale to enhance planning, monitor progress, and reduce the number of out-of-school children.
The minister assured Nigerians that no child would be left behind, underscoring that the nationwide mapping exercise would support practical solutions, strengthen collaboration with state governments and development partners, and improve school enrolment and retention rates.
Governor Sani also expressed his appreciation for Alausa and the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, for their reformative actions in the education sector. He extended gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his unwavering support, noting that the Federal Government’s commitment has spurred meaningful reforms across the nation. Sani reaffirmed Kaduna State’s dedication to collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Education to broaden access to quality education, expressing satisfaction that Kaduna’s household mapping initiative has been adopted as the national model for identifying out-of-school children.