The Federal Government has adopted Kaduna State’s household mapping model as the national framework for identifying and returning out-of-school children to classrooms across the country.
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa (CON), announced the decision during a meeting with Kaduna State Governor, Sen. Uba Sani, describing the initiative as a major step towards tackling one of Nigeria’s biggest education challenges.
According to a statement issued by the Minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, the new approach will be implemented in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Under the initiative, the Federal Ministry of Education and the NBS will conduct a nationwide household mapping exercise to determine the exact number of out-of-school children, identify where they live and the households they belong to, replacing reliance on broad estimates with verified data.
Alausa said the exercise would provide accurate information to guide policy decisions, improve resource allocation and enable governments at all levels to target interventions more effectively.
“For many years, planning has relied largely on projections that could not accurately show where out-of-school children were located.
This exercise changes that by providing verified information that will help us reach every child who needs to be in school,” the minister said.
He cited Kaduna State as evidence of the effectiveness of the model, noting that while previous estimates put the state’s out-of-school population at about 585,000, the household mapping exercise conducted by the state government revealed that the actual figure is fewer than 200,000.
“With this exercise, we now know where these children are and the households they belong to. That gives us the opportunity to work closely with the Kaduna State Government to bring them back to school,” he added.
The minister commended Governor Uba Sani for pioneering the initiative, saying the model had demonstrated how accurate data could improve planning, decision-making and service delivery in the education sector.
He disclosed that the ministry had already begun working with the NBS to replicate the methodology nationwide, expressing confidence that the exercise would strengthen education planning, improve resource deployment and support efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children.
Governor Uba Sani praised Alausa and the Minister of State for Education for the reforms being implemented in the sector, describing their leadership as inspiring to state governments.
He also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for prioritising education, saying the Federal Government’s support had created momentum for meaningful reforms across the country.
The governor reaffirmed Kaduna State’s commitment to partnering with the Federal Ministry of Education to expand access to quality education, describing education as one of the most important investments any government can make.
He expressed satisfaction that Kaduna’s household mapping initiative had been adopted as the national model for tackling the out-of-school children crisis.
Alausa assured Nigerians that no child would be left behind, saying the nationwide mapping exercise would provide the reliable data needed to identify, enrol and retain more children in school in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
