Ambitious Enrolment Target Aims to Secure Children’s Future

A major enrolment campaign has been launched to tackle Nigeria’s deepening out-of-school crisis, with plans to bring at least 220,000 children back into classrooms for the 2025/2026 academic year.

At a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), in partnership with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and UNICEF, education leaders called for urgent, collective action to reverse alarming figures of children excluded from learning.

SUBEB Chairman, Babaji Babadidi, announced that each of the state’s 11 Local Government Areas has been given a target of 10,000 new enrolments, totaling 110,000 pupils. However, the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Aishatu Maigari, pushed for a more ambitious goal of 20,000 children per LGA—raising the target to 220,000.

“Reversing this crisis demands bold steps,” Maigari said. “It also means addressing barriers such as unsafe schools, limited rural access, and the exclusion of girls and children with disabilities.”

To support enrolment and retention, government initiatives include expanded school infrastructure, teacher training, and free uniforms and textbooks.

UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office representative, Mohammed Kudi, described the challenge as a “collective emergency,” noting that more than 737,000 children in the state are currently out of school. “We must ensure that this is not only about enrolment drives, but also about retention and completion,” he said.

Traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society groups, and parents at the meeting pledged to champion the campaign. Strategies include door-to-door visits, mosque and church advocacy, radio jingles, town hall meetings, and market sensitisation to persuade families to prioritise education over child labour or early marriage.

With Nigeria home to an estimated 13.5 million out-of-school children the highest in the world experts warn that improving enrolment and retention is critical for breaking cycles of poverty, unemployment, and insecurity.

The new campaign, participants agreed, offers a rare opportunity to rally communities, strengthen schools, and secure the future of the next generation.