5.5 million nomadic children out of school in Nigeria — Report

The National Commission for Nomadic Education says about 5.5 million children from nomadic pastoralist, migrant fishing and migrant farming communities are out of school across Nigeria, despite the combined population of the three groups being estimated at 45.9 million.

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

“About 5.5 million children from nomadic pastoralist, migrant fishing and migrant farming communities are out of school across Nigeria,” Abdu said, noting that the figure relates to the three categories of communities targeted by the Federal Government’s nomadic education programme despite their combined estimated population of 45.9 million.

The conference, themed, “Strengthening Inclusive and Flexible Education Pathways for Nomadic Pastoralists and Marginalised Learners in Africa,” was held as Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria, Kano, partnered with three African universities to establish a consortium aimed at improving access to education for marginalised communities across the continent.

PUNCH Online reports that the other institutions in the consortium are the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Kenya; Capital University, Somalia; and the University of Namibia.

Abdu said the figures covered the three categories of communities targeted by the Federal Government’s nomadic education programme, clarifying that the initiative was not exclusively designed for Fulani pastoralists.

“One major problem with discussions about nomadic education in Nigeria is the misconception that the programme is exclusively meant for Fulani people. That is not correct,” he said.

“The programme targets three major groups: nomadic pastoralists, migrant fisherfolk and migrant farmers. These groups have a combined estimated population of 45.9 million across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory,” he added.

He said the commission currently had at least 1.9 million learners enrolled across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the commission had introduced alternative learning methods, including mobile schools, learning centres under trees and radio-based education, to reach children affected by insecurity, geographical isolation and other barriers to conventional schooling.

The acting executive secretary said the commission was establishing skills acquisition centres to equip young people with vocational skills and alternative sources of livelihood, with the aim of improving their economic independence and the living conditions of their families.

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However, he identified inadequate and delayed funding, teacher shortages and transfers, girls’ dropout rates and poor transition from primary to junior secondary education as major challenges facing the programme.

Abdu said budgetary allocations were often insufficient to meet the commission’s responsibilities nationwide and were sometimes released late, adding that the commission lacked direct control over teachers deployed to nomadic schools because education was on the Concurrent Legislative List, with the three tiers of government sharing responsibility.

“We sometimes experience situations where teachers trained and deployed to nomadic schools are transferred to conventional schools. This results in teacher attrition and disrupts the continuity of learning in nomadic communities,” he said.

He said the commission was engaging state and local governments to retain teachers in nomadic schools and encouraging the recruitment of qualified people from nomadic communities, who understand the language, culture and way of life of the children.

On girls’ education, Abdu said enrolment was usually 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 what he called the “child substitution syndrome”, whereby parents withdraw older children to help with cattle herding, fishing and farming before enrolling younger siblings in their place.

According to him, the practice disrupts educational progression because younger children cannot simply continue from the class level attained by their older siblings. He added that many nomadic communities lacked nearby junior secondary schools, making the transition from primary education difficult, particularly for girls.

To address the challenges, Abdu said the commission was seeking support from development partners, state governments, philanthropists and other stakeholders.

He disclosed that Bauchi, Jigawa, Zamfara and Sokoto states had established agencies responsible for nomadic education, while Niger State had created a ministry for nomadic education and pastoral affairs.

He said the commission was also working with the state agencies, State Universal Basic Education Boards and non-governmental organisations to improve access to and retention in education among the three target groups.