Nigeria adopts Kaduna household mapping for out-of-school children

The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Bureau of Statistics, has adopted Nigeria — Kaduna State's household mapping model as the national framework for identifying out-of-school children. This marks a shift from estimate-based planning to data-driven interventions. The nationwide exercise will cover all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, aiming to accurately determine the number of out-of-school children, their locations, and households. The decision was announced by Minister of Education Maruf Alausa during a meeting with Nigeria — Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani. Kaduna's own 2025/2026 Annual School Census and Out-of-School Children Mapping reports revealed 187,719 children out of school, with poverty cited by over 91% of households as the main barrier. The state has reduced out-of-school numbers from over 500,000 through investments and programs. The initiative is supported by development partners including Save the Children and UNICEF. Additionally, First Lady Remi Tinubu has sought Saudi Arabia's partnership to reform Almajiri education, integrating Islamic and Western learning.