Nigeria’s Out-of-School Children Crisis: Senator Lawal Adamu Usman Calls for Urgent Action

By oluwaseyi Adediran

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Nigeria is facing a staggering crisis of out-of-school children, with approximately 7.6 million children currently not attending school. This alarming figure was revealed by Senator

Lawal Adamu Usman, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary), who represents Kaduna Central Senatorial District. Senator Usman emphasized the critical role that religious and traditional leaders play in promoting girls’ education and empowerment.

He urged these leaders to champion the cause of adequate education for the girl child in their respective communities. Furthermore, he appealed to the World Bank to expand its Adolescents Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project to cover all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Nigeria.

The senator’s remarks were made during the National Conference on Girl-Child Education and Empowerment with Traditional and Religious Leaders in Nigeria. The conference, hosted by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, brought together esteemed guests, including the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji

Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III; Emir of Argungu, Samaila Muhammad Mera; and Oba Tajudeen Jimoh from Ekiti State.Senator Usman stressed that without the support of religious and traditional leaders, the goal of educating the girl child will remain elusive.

He noted that these leaders have a crucial role in raising and empowering girls’ education standards. The senator also disclosed that his committee has been working tirelessly on the amendment of the Basic Education (Amendment) Bill, which is now at the

third reading stage before the Senate.The bill, once enacted, is expected to revolutionize and revitalize basic education, including girl-child education in Nigeria. Senator Usman highlighted the alarming statistics: 3.9 million girls are out of school at the

primary level, and 3.7 million are not attending school at the junior secondary level. More than 50% of girls in Nigeria are not attending school at the basic education level, with about one million girls dropping out between primary school’s first and last year.Girls account

for 38% of Nigeria’s out-of-school children, with their education hindered by major barriers such as child marriage, poverty, and gender discrimination. These challenges prevent the girl child from learning and completing her education.

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