Vice President Kashim Shettima has raised serious concern over Nigeria’s rising number of out-of-school children, describing the situation as a national emergency that requires urgent, collective, and sustained action from all tiers of government and key stakeholders.
Speaking in Abuja, Shettima warned that the scale of the crisis poses a direct threat to Nigeria’s social stability, economic growth, and long-term security. He emphasized that millions of children currently outside the formal education system represent not only a humanitarian challenge but also a looming national development risk.
Available data indicate that Nigeria remains among the countries with the highest number of out-of-school children globally, with the burden falling heavily on northern states, rural communities, and conflict-affected areas. Factors such as poverty, insecurity, displacement, early marriage, child labour, and cultural barriers continue to limit access to education, particularly for girls.
The Vice President noted that although the federal government has increased budgetary allocations to the education sector in recent years, government funding alone cannot resolve the crisis. He called for increased private-sector investment, stronger partnerships with development agencies, and greater involvement of civil society and community leaders to expand educational access and improve quality.
Shettima also stressed the importance of tailored, state-level strategies, noting that the drivers of school dropout and non-enrolment differ across regions. He urged state governments to prioritise basic education, strengthen school infrastructure, recruit and train teachers, and introduce social protection programmes that encourage enrolment and retention.
Warning of the long-term consequences of inaction, Shettima said children denied education today are more vulnerable to crime, radicalisation, and exploitation in the future, adding that meaningful investment in education remains central to national unity, security, and sustainable development.
His remarks have renewed calls from education stakeholders for emergency-style interventions to prevent millions of Nigerian children from being excluded from the formal education system and to secure the country’s future human capital.