About 5.5 million children from nomadic pastoralist, migrant fishing and migrant farming communities are out of school across Nigeria, according to the National Commission for Nomadic Education. The Acting Executive Secretary of the commission, Dr Umar Abdu, disclosed this on Tuesday during an interview in Kano, on the sidelines of a three-day international conference on education for nomadic pastoralists and other marginalized learners.

Abdu explained that the three groups targeted by the Federal Government’s nomadic education programme have a combined estimated population of 45.9 million across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. He clarified that the programme was not exclusively designed for Fulani pastoralists, as it also covers migrant fisherfolk and migrant farmers.

The conference, themed Strengthening Inclusive and Flexible Education Pathways for Nomadic Pastoralists and Marginalized Learners in Africa, was organized as Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria, Kano, partnered with three African universities to establish a consortium aimed at expanding educational opportunities for marginalized communities. The partner institutions are the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Kenya, Capital University in Somalia and the University of Namibia. Abdu said the commission currently had at least 1.9 million learners enrolled across the country.

He noted that alternative learning methods had been introduced to reach children facing insecurity, geographical isolation and other barriers to conventional education. These include mobile schools, learning centres established under trees and radio-based learning programmes.

The commission is also establishing skills acquisition centres to provide young people with vocational training and alternative livelihood opportunities, with the aim of improving their economic independence and family welfare. However, Abdu identified inadequate and delayed funding, teacher shortages, frequent teacher transfers, girls’ dropout rates and poor transition from primary to junior secondary education as major challenges affecting the programme.

He explained that the commission’s budgetary allocations were often insufficient to meet its nationwide responsibilities and were sometimes released late. He also noted that the commission had limited control over teachers deployed to nomadic schools because education is on the Concurrent Legislative List, meaning the federal, state and local governments share responsibilities in the sector.

According to him, some teachers trained and assigned to nomadic schools are later transferred to conventional schools, disrupting learning and creating staffing gaps in nomadic communities. To address the problem, the commission is engaging state and local governments to retain teachers in the schools. It is also encouraging the recruitment of qualified individuals from nomadic communities who understand the children’s languages, cultures and lifestyles.

On girls’ education, Abdu said enrolment was often encouraging between Primary One and Primary Three but declined from Primary Four as some parents withdrew their daughters for early marriage and domestic responsibilities. He also identified a practice known as the “child substitution syndrome”, where parents withdraw older children from school to assist with cattle herding, fishing or farming before enrolling their younger siblings.

He explained that the practice disrupts educational progression because younger children cannot automatically continue from the class level their older siblings had reached. The acting executive secretary further observed that the absence of nearby junior secondary schools in many nomadic communities made it difficult for children, particularly girls, to continue their education after primary school.

Abdu said the commission was seeking assistance from development partners, state governments, philanthropists and other stakeholders to address the challenges. He disclosed that Bauchi, Jigawa, Zamfara and Sokoto states had established agencies responsible for nomadic education, while Niger State had created a ministry dedicated to nomadic education and pastoral affairs.

He added that the commission was working with state agencies, State Universal Basic Education Boards and non-governmental organizations to improve school enrolment and retention among the three target communities.

5.5 Million Nomadic Children Out of School in Nigeria, Report

About 5.5 million children from nomadic pastoralist, migrant fishing and migrant farming communities are out of school across Nigeria, according to the National Commission for Nomadic Education.

The Acting Executive Secretary of the commission, Dr Umar Abdu, disclosed this on Tuesday during an interview in Kano, on the sidelines of a three-day international conference on education for nomadic pastoralists and other marginalised learners.

Abdu explained that the three groups targeted by the Federal Government’s nomadic education programme have a combined estimated population of 45.9 million across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. He clarified that the programme was not exclusively designed for Fulani pastoralists, as it also covers migrant fisherfolk and migrant farmers.

The conference, themed Strengthening Inclusive and Flexible Education Pathways for Nomadic Pastoralists and Marginalised Learners in Africa, was organised as Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria, Kano, partnered with three African universities to establish a consortium aimed at expanding educational opportunities for marginalised communities.

The partner institutions are the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Kenya, Capital University in Somalia and the University of Namibia. Abdu said the commission currently had at least 1.9 million learners enrolled across the country. He noted that alternative learning methods had been introduced to reach children facing insecurity, geographical isolation and other barriers to conventional education. These include mobile schools, learning centres established under trees and radio-based learning programmes.

The commission is also establishing skills acquisition centres to provide young people with vocational training and alternative livelihood opportunities, with the aim of improving their economic independence and family welfare. However, Abdu identified inadequate and delayed funding, teacher shortages, frequent teacher transfers, girls’ dropout rates and poor transition from primary to junior secondary education as major challenges affecting the programme.

He explained that the commission’s budgetary allocations were often insufficient to meet its nationwide responsibilities and were sometimes released late. He also noted that the commission had limited control over teachers deployed to nomadic schools because education is on the Concurrent Legislative List, meaning the federal, state and local governments share responsibilities in the sector.

According to him, some teachers trained and assigned to nomadic schools are later transferred to conventional schools, disrupting learning and creating staffing gaps in nomadic communities. To address the problem, the commission is engaging state and local governments to retain teachers in the schools. It is also encouraging the recruitment of qualified individuals from nomadic communities who understand the children’s languages, cultures and lifestyles. On girls’ education, Abdu said enrolment was often encouraging between Primary One and Primary Three but declined from Primary Four as some parents withdrew their daughters for early marriage and domestic responsibilities.

He also identified a practice known as the “child substitution syndrome”, where parents withdraw older children from school to assist with cattle herding, fishing or farming before enrolling their younger siblings. He explained that the practice disrupts educational progression because younger children cannot automatically continue from the class level their older siblings had reached. The acting executive secretary further observed that the absence of nearby junior secondary schools in many nomadic communities made it difficult for children, particularly girls, to continue their education after primary school.

Abdu said the commission was seeking assistance from development partners, state governments, philanthropists and other stakeholders to address the challenges. He disclosed that Bauchi, Jigawa, Zamfara and Sokoto states had established agencies responsible for nomadic education, while Niger State had created a ministry dedicated to nomadic education and pastoral affairs.

About 5.5 million children from nomadic pastoralist, migrant fishing and migrant farming communities are not attending school in Nigeria. The commission says funding shortages, teacher transfers, early marriage and limited access to secondary schools are among the major challenges affecting their education.