By Umar Idris, Zaria Former Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Prof. Sagir Adamu Abbas, has outlined a comprehens...
Former Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Prof. Sagir Adamu Abbas, has outlined a comprehensive roadmap for addressing Northern Nigeria's persistent out-of-school children crisis, insisting that the challenge, though enormous, can be overcome through bold political leadership, innovative policies, sustained investment and collective action.
Delivering the keynote address at a roundtable conference organised by Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Prof. Abbas argued that ending educational exclusion in the region requires far more than increasing school enrolment figures.
Rather, he said, it demands a fundamental rethink of existing policies and a coordinated response involving governments, universities, traditional and religious institutions, civil society organisations, development partners and local communities.
The one-day conference was held at the Yusufu Bala Usman Hall, ABU Main Campus, Samaru, Zaria, on Thursday, July 16, 2026.
Prof. Abbas, a former Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Federal Universities, presented a paper titled "Out-of-School Children in Northern Nigeria: Understanding the Context, Rethinking the Challenge and Charting a Transformative Policy Agenda."
The paper examined the root causes of educational exclusion, reassessed prevailing policy responses, drew lessons from international experiences and proposed a transformative framework for addressing one of Nigeria's most pressing development challenges.
According to him, the crisis can only be reversed through political courage, institutional innovation, sustained financing, community ownership and an unwavering commitment to the principle that every child deserves access to quality education.
«"If governments, universities, traditional and religious institutions, civil society organisations, development partners and communities work together with a common purpose, Northern Nigeria can reverse the tide of educational exclusion and become a model of inclusive human capital development," he said.»
Prof. Abbas maintained that the out-of-school children crisis cannot be adequately understood through statistics alone.
While official figures reveal the scale of the problem, he argued, they do little to explain the complex realities that keep millions of children outside the classroom.
«"The figures only convey the magnitude of the problem. They reveal little about the diverse circumstances, pathways and structural conditions that produce educational exclusion."»
He stressed that a meaningful understanding of the crisis requires policymakers to move beyond numerical estimates and examine the social, economic, cultural, institutional and political factors shaping children's educational experiences.
«"It also requires recognising that the label 'out-of-school child' encompasses a heterogeneous population whose members face different barriers and therefore require different policy responses."»
According to Prof. Abbas, the real challenge is not merely to count the number of children who are out of school but to understand why existing interventions have produced limited results and to rethink the assumptions that have shaped public policy for decades.
He also cautioned against simplistic narratives that portray Northern Nigeria merely as the epicentre of Nigeria's education crisis.
The region, he noted, possesses rich educational traditions, including centuries-old Islamic scholarship that has produced generations of renowned scholars.
«"The persistence of educational exclusion should not be interpreted as a rejection of learning. Rather, it reflects the widening disconnect between traditional educational systems, modern state provision and the socioeconomic realities confronting many families."»
Placing Nigeria's education challenge in a global context, Prof. Abbas noted that UNESCO estimates that more than 250 million children and young people remain out of school worldwide, with Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for a disproportionately large share of that population.
Nigeria, he said, occupies one of the most troubling positions globally.
Citing recent UNICEF data, he disclosed that approximately 10.2 million children of primary school age and an additional 8.1 million of junior secondary school age are out of school, bringing the national total to more than 18 million.
He added that nearly two-thirds of these children are concentrated in the North-West and North-East geopolitical zones.
The professor, who is currently on sabbatical at Ahmadu Bello University, also faulted the tendency of policymakers to treat all out-of-school children as a single category.
He argued that such a blanket approach has resulted in generic interventions that fail to address the distinct barriers confronting different groups of excluded children.
«"In reality, educational exclusion in Northern Nigeria is multidimensional, reflecting a complex interplay of economic deprivation, conflict, mobility patterns, disability, gender norms and institutional shortcomings."»
Prof. Abbas identified eight broad categories of out-of-school children requiring tailored interventions. They include children who have never enrolled in school; school dropouts; Almajirai and other pupils in traditional Qur'anic schools who remain outside integrated educational frameworks; nomadic and pastoralist children; internally displaced children; children living with disabilities; girls excluded from education because of gender-related barriers; and working children engaged in street hawking, domestic service, artisanal labour and other income-generating activities.
He maintained that reducing the number of out-of-school children would require differentiated, context-specific policies rather than one-size-fits-all solutions.
«"The challenge before policymakers is not merely to reduce the numbers but to develop differentiated, context-sensitive strategies that respond to the specific circumstances of each category of excluded child."»
Prof. Abbas concluded that only an inclusive and evidence-based approach would enable Northern Nigeria to move beyond fragmented interventions and achieve lasting educational transformation, thereby laying a solid foundation for stronger human capital development and sustainable national progress.
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