Nigeria adopts Kaduna model to map out-of-school children nationwide

Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Education, led by Minister Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa, announced a shift from using broad estimates to a data‑driven household mapping approach for identifying out‑of‑school children. The government will deploy the Kaduna State household‑mapping model across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in partnership with the National Bureau of Statistics. The pilot in Kaduna reduced the estimated out‑of‑school population from about 585,000 to under 200,000, demonstrating the value of verified, household‑level data. Alausa said the exercise will enable precise targeting of interventions, more efficient resource allocation and better monitoring of progress toward universal school enrolment.

The rollout follows a meeting with Kaduna Governor Uba Sani, who introduced the model. Officials expect the new data to guide policies that bring millions of children back into classrooms and improve education planning nationwide.