Nigeria’s Education Emergency Leaves Millions Out of School
Recent Developments
01UNICEF-linked and media reporting in 2025 continues to cite 18.3 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, underscoring the scale of the crisis.
02Analyses published in 2025 argue that insecurity around schools is still pushing parents to withdraw children, especially in rural and conflict-affected areas.
03UNICEF Nigeria continues education programming for vulnerable children, indicating the issue remains an active humanitarian priority rather than a resolved problem.
Interventions
- UNICEF Nigeria education programs supporting access to school, learning recovery, and vulnerable children.
- Government and civil-society interventions aimed at reducing out-of-school children and improving school safety, as reflected in legislative and policy analyses.
What Works
- School safety measures and protection of learning spaces reduce withdrawals and permanent dropout when insecurity is a major driver.
- Targeted support for marginalized children, including access, attendance, and learning recovery programs, is essential in high-burden areas.
How to Help
- Donate to organizations working on education access and school safety in Nigeria, such as UNICEF and child-focused NGOs.
- Support local and international NGOs that provide learning materials, safe schooling, and child protection services.
- Advocate for sustained public funding for basic education and school security through elected representatives and policy channels.
Make an Impact
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Verified Organizations
Organizations Helping(5)
ECW supports education in Nigeria by funding safe learning spaces, teacher professional development and well-being support, vocational training, teaching and learning materials, WASH facilities designed for gender and disability inclusion, child safeguarding, and reintegration of out-of-school children and girls into formal education. In north-eastern Nigeria, it has used both First Emergency Response grants and longer-term Multi-Year Resilience Programmes to move children from emergency access into sustained learning.
UNICEF Nigeria supports children affected by crisis through catch-up classes, radio-based learning, alternative learning pathways, teacher training, and support for school continuity after displacement and flooding. It also partners with government on education strategy, safer schools, improved curricula and learning materials, financial support for the poorest families, and reintegration of children back into formal schooling; in 2024 it also helped launch a project to support two million out-of-school children in northeast Nigeria.
In northeast Nigeria, Creative Associates International led the Nigeria Education Crisis Response Program, which expanded access to quality learning for displaced and out-of-school children ages 6 to 17. The program created non-formal learning centers in churches, mosques, Qur’anic schools, and other community locations, and worked with the International Rescue Committee and more than 30 Nigerian organizations, while also engaging traditional and religious leaders to improve safety, access, and community support.
This working group does not directly run a single service delivery program; instead, it coordinates ministries, humanitarian organizations, and education actors to prioritize interventions, agree on standards, advocate for funding, improve capacity, and align education-in-emergency responses in Nigeria, especially in the north-east where crisis has disrupted schooling.
