The Federal Government has called on state governments and local communities to take full ownership of the LUMINAH 2030 initiative, stressing that the success of the programme will be determined at the grassroots not in Abuja.
Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, made this known on Monday in Abuja during a two-day stakeholder engagement with pilot states involved in the LUMINAH 2030 rollout.
Launched in March 2025, LUMINAH 2030 (Leveraging Universal Mechanisms and Innovation for National Advancement of Her) is a national initiative designed to empower one million underserved girls and women by the year 2030.
Prof. Ahmad expressed concern over lingering challenges in the education sector, particularly around inclusion, learning quality, and gender equity, despite progress in some areas.
“Let every state become a LUMINAH exemplary state. Let every community become a place where girls can learn safely and with dignity,” she urged.
She also unveiled a new coordinated roadmap under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), which aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“NESRI is a national resolve to rebuild the foundations of learning in Nigeria. It ensures that no child is left behind, and no girl is left unseen or unheard,” she said.
Prof. Ahmad described the event as “deeply personal,” sharing her own experiences growing up in a community where girls’ aspirations were often stifled. She painted a vivid picture of the daily struggles many Nigerian girls still face.
“We all saw that emotional video those girls are our daughters. Girls who wake before dawn to fetch water instead of going to school; girls who walk miles to unsafe classrooms or hawk on the streets when they should be learning. Their cries for education are not just calls for help—they are calls for justice, dignity, and opportunity,” she said.
According to her, NESRI focuses on six core priorities:
Expanding technical and vocational education and training (TVET)
Strengthening STEMM and innovation
Reducing the number of out-of-school children
Empowering the girl child
Ensuring quality and equitable education
Building robust data and digital systems
Despite notable progress through programmes like the Adolescent Girls’ Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), the minister emphasized that too many girls remain out of school, hindered by poverty, insecurity, and harmful socio-cultural practices.
She described LUMINAH 2030 as “a bold and holistic model for girl-child education and empowerment” aimed at breaking the cycle of generational exclusion.
“LUMINAH goes beyond schooling. It tackles root causes by empowering mothers and caregivers to earn and support their children’s education. It is about reshaping mindsets, driving social reorientation, and building intergenerational change,” she added.
Also speaking, Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Hajia Aisha Garba, affirmed that LUMINAH 2030 has been fully integrated into the Commission’s structure and those of the State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs).
“This is not just another programme. It’s a national movement to empower over one million underserved Nigerian girls and women with education, vocational skills, and digital literacy by 2030,” she said.
Garba noted that UBEC had established a dedicated unit on Alternative Education for Girls and introduced a special budget line within the UBE matching grant for states to implement core interventions. These include:Alternative high schools for girls,
Scholarships,
Accelerated basic education and
Empowerment of mothers
She said the programme’s initial phase will cover 12 pilot states one from each geopolitical zonebefore expanding nationwide.
UBEC, she added, had set out clear criteria for selecting participating communities, focusing on those with high rates of out-of-school girls, extreme poverty, and economic vulnerability.
“Our collaboration with SUBEBs is key to ensuring sustainability. We are prioritising transparency and accountability in fund disbursement and resource deployment,” Garba stressed.
She concluded by reaffirming the government’s resolve:
“We are not merely implementing a programme we are writing a new chapter in Nigeria’s education story, one where no girl is left behind.”