Reported by Simon Daniel Yusuph l Journalist at Weng Global
Kaduna Targets 100,000 Out-of-School Children
The Kaduna State Government has intensified its campaign against illiteracy and school exclusion through a $62.8 million Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROOSC) project designed to return 100,000 children to formal and non-formal learning across the state’s 23 local government areas.
The four-year initiative is being implemented with support from several international development partners, including the Islamic Development Bank, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Global Partnership for Education, Education Above All, Save the Children International and UNICEF.
The project is aimed at addressing the economic, social, infrastructural and other barriers that keep children outside the education system.
According to the Kaduna State ROOSC Project, the programme is designed to improve access to quality primary education while supporting children with disabilities, girls, adolescents and learners in underserved communities.
Mapping Identifies 187,719 Out-of-School Children
The scale of Kaduna’s education challenge became clearer after a comprehensive household mapping exercise conducted across the state.
ROOSC Project Coordinator Ezra Angai said the exercise covered approximately 360,000 households and identified 187,719 out-of-school children.
The mapping exercise recorded information about the children’s locations and the reasons they were not attending school, providing the state with more detailed data for targeting education interventions.
Angai said more than 90 per cent of the identified children were out of school because of household-related challenges.
He added that boys accounted for approximately 57 per cent of the affected population, with many involved in farming, hawking and other economic activities to support their families.
The findings indicate that school exclusion in Kaduna is closely linked to household economic pressure and cannot be addressed solely by constructing classrooms.
The Education Above All Foundation also identifies poverty, child labour, gender discrimination, insecurity, inadequate infrastructure, weak child protection systems and cultural or religious practices among the barriers affecting children’s access to education.
$62.8 Million Funding Package
The total programme envelope is $62.8 million.
According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, the financing package includes a $25.35 million concessional loan from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, $10.5 million from the Islamic Development Bank, a $15.45 million grant from the Global Partnership for Education and a $10 million grant from Education Above All.
Save the Children International is providing $500,000 in technical assistance, while the Kaduna State Government is contributing $1 million in counterpart funding.
The Federal Ministry of Finance said the programme would be subject to fiduciary assurance and results reporting, with joint reviews expected to monitor areas including enrolment, teacher development and learning outcomes.
The financing arrangement was formalised in 2025 through an agreement involving the Federal Government, Kaduna State and the Kuwait Fund.
102 New Schools, 170 Renovations
Infrastructure is a major component of the intervention.
The project provides for the construction of 102 new schools and the renovation or upgrading of 170 existing schools and learning centres across Kaduna’s 23 local government areas.
Recent updates from the Kaduna ROOSC Project indicate that civil works have been mobilised, while the project has also been working to expand access to learning in communities where children face barriers to attending conventional schools.
The infrastructure component is intended to provide safer and more accessible learning environments while reducing overcrowding and bringing schools closer to underserved communities.
The programme also places emphasis on inclusive education, with particular attention to girls, children with disabilities and other vulnerable learners.
Alternative Learning for Children Outside the School System
The ROOSC programme is not limited to conventional classroom construction.
It includes accelerated and alternative learning arrangements intended to help children who have missed several years of formal education.
The Kaduna ROOSC Project says its Accelerated Basic Education Programme is designed to provide condensed foundational learning for older out-of-school children before they transition into formal schools.
The programme primarily targets children aged between 10 and 17 who have missed significant periods of schooling.
Catch-Up Clubs are also being used to help younger children develop basic competencies needed to return to formal education.
The initiative further supports the integration of Tsangaya and Quranic learning centres into the wider education system, allowing children to receive foundational literacy, numeracy and life-skills education alongside their religious studies.
Poverty Remains a Major Barrier
The data gathered by the project highlights the connection between poverty and school exclusion.
Angai said many children leave school or fail to enrol because their families depend on them for economic activities.
This means that returning children to classrooms requires interventions that go beyond simply making school places available.
Where children are required to farm, hawk or participate in other income-generating activities, families may face difficult choices between immediate household needs and education.
The ROOSC approach therefore combines education infrastructure with community mobilisation, child protection and other measures intended to reduce the barriers preventing children from attending and remaining in school.
The Education Above All Foundation lists transportation services, community mobilisation, child protection and safeguarding, inclusive education, radio learning programmes and improved school facilities among the programme’s interventions.
Community Leaders Given Role in Keeping Children in School
The project has also established community-level structures to support enrolment and retention.
According to recent reports by Punch and Radio Nigeria Kaduna, community coalitions involving traditional rulers, religious leaders, parents and School-Based Management Committee members are being used to encourage children to enrol and remain in school.
Caseworkers are also expected to monitor attendance and intervene when children begin to drop out.
The monitoring structure involves the ROOSC Project Management Unit alongside organisations and government bodies responsible for education implementation and quality assurance.
This approach is intended to ensure that enrolment does not become the only measure of success.
Keeping children in school and improving their learning outcomes are equally important to the programme.
Support for Girls and Menstrual Health
The project also includes interventions aimed at reducing barriers that disproportionately affect girls.
Recent reporting by Punch said more than 2,000 menstrual health and hygiene materials had been distributed to girls as part of efforts to reduce school absenteeism.
The intervention is based on the recognition that lack of access to appropriate menstrual hygiene support can contribute to girls missing school.
The broader ROOSC programme also identifies gender discrimination and other social barriers among the factors that can prevent children from accessing education.
Kaduna’s Wider Education Strategy
The ROOSC project forms part of Kaduna State’s broader effort to improve access to basic education.
The Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation reported in July 2026 that the Federal Government had adopted Kaduna’s household mapping model as a possible national framework for addressing the out-of-school children challenge.
The mapping approach was designed to move away from broad estimates by identifying individual children, their locations and the circumstances contributing to their exclusion from school.
Kaduna State has said the exercise has contributed to a reduction in its estimated out-of-school population, although the figures reported at different stages of the mapping process vary according to the scope and timing of the exercise.
The latest ROOSC mapping figure cited by the project coordinator is 187,719 children.
Why the Project Matters
The significance of the $62.8 million intervention extends beyond Kaduna State.
Nigeria continues to face a major challenge in providing education for children who are excluded from formal schooling, particularly in parts of northern Nigeria where poverty, insecurity, child labour, infrastructure shortages and other factors can restrict access.
For Kaduna, the ability to identify affected children by household and location provides a basis for more targeted intervention.
The project’s success, however, will depend not only on how many classrooms are constructed or children enrolled but also on whether learners remain in school and acquire meaningful literacy and numeracy skills.
The programme’s focus on household barriers, community participation, alternative learning and inclusive education reflects the complexity of the problem.
What Happens Next
The four-year ROOSC programme will continue with school construction and rehabilitation, enrolment and re-enrolment activities, teacher development, community mobilisation and alternative learning programmes.
The Kaduna ROOSC Project’s official website currently reports progress in learner enrolment, Tsangaya school integration and support for children with disabilities, while implementation continues across the state.
The immediate target remains the return of 100,000 out-of-school children to learning.
For Kaduna, the broader objective is to build an education system in which children who are currently excluded from school can enter, remain and complete quality learning.
The $62.8 million investment therefore represents both an education infrastructure programme and an attempt to address the household and community conditions that contribute to school exclusion.
If effectively implemented and sustained, the initiative could provide Kaduna with a more comprehensive model for identifying out-of-school children and connecting them with appropriate learning opportunities.
Weng Global – Stories beyond borders
Sources
- Kaduna State Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROOSC) Project — Project overview, implementation details, learning programmes and progress updates.
- Federal Ministry of Finance, Nigeria — Details of the $62.8 million blended financing package and development partners.
- Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation — Government reporting on the ROOSC financing agreement and Kaduna’s household mapping model.
- Education Above All Foundation — ROOSC project objectives, barriers to education and programme interventions.
- Punch Newspapers — Recent reporting on the $62.8 million project, household mapping and the target of returning 100,000 children to learning.
- Radio Nigeria Kaduna — Reporting on the 2026 International Literacy Day briefing and ROOSC implementation.
- Peoples Daily — Reporting on the ROOSC project, out-of-school children mapping and planned interventions.