Reported by Simon Daniel Yusuph l Journalist at Weng Global
About 70 per cent of Nigerian children aged 10 cannot read and understand a simple text, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has disclosed, highlighting the depth of the country’s learning crisis and raising fresh concerns about the quality of foundational education.
The disclosure was made by UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr Aisha Garba, in Abuja during a three-day capacity-building workshop for state actors on the implementation of Early Childhood Care, Development and Education (ECCDE) standards and guidelines.
Garba, who was represented at the workshop by UBEC Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Rasaq Olajuwon Akinyemi, also said only 35.6 per cent of Nigerian children aged between 36 and 59 months currently attend any form of early childhood education.
That gap, she said, leaves roughly 10 million young children outside the early childhood education system and contributes to weaknesses that become more visible as children progress through school.
Nigeria’s Foundational Learning Crisis
The latest warning places Nigeria’s longstanding education challenge beyond the question of whether children are enrolled in school.
A child may be physically present in a classroom without acquiring the basic literacy and numeracy skills expected at that stage of development. UBEC’s latest figures point to this distinction between school attendance and actual learning.
The commission said the inability of a large proportion of 10-year-olds to read and understand simple text demonstrates the consequences of weak foundational learning.
The issue is particularly significant because reading comprehension is a basic building block for learning across almost every subject. Children who struggle to read simple texts may also find it harder to understand instructions, follow lessons, complete assignments and acquire more advanced knowledge as they move through the education system.
Nigeria therefore faces a challenge that extends beyond building classrooms or increasing enrolment. The quality of early learning, teacher preparation, instructional materials, school environments and support available to children at home all affect whether children develop the skills required to succeed.
Early Childhood Education Gap
UBEC said only 35.6 per cent of children between 36 and 59 months are participating in any form of early childhood education.
The commission estimated that about 10 million young Nigerian children are consequently outside Early Childhood Care, Development and Education programmes.
Garba said the problem was compounded by developmental delays among young children. She cited analysis from the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, which showed that about 46 per cent of children aged 24 to 59 months were developmentally off track.
These figures suggest that some children are entering primary education without receiving the early developmental support that can help prepare them for formal schooling.
Early childhood education is not limited to teaching children how to read and write before they enter primary school. It can also involve language development, social and emotional development, cognitive stimulation, physical development and preparation for classroom learning.
When these foundations are weak, children can enter primary school at a disadvantage, potentially widening learning gaps that become more difficult and expensive to address later.
Fewer Children Remain in School
The education challenge also extends beyond foundational literacy.
UBEC said about 5.9 million children enter primary school in Nigeria each year, but only around 2.4 million remain in the education system by the end of junior secondary school.
The figures indicate a substantial gap between initial entry into primary education and continued participation through the basic education cycle.
Retention is affected by multiple factors, including poverty, insecurity, inadequate infrastructure, limited access to schools, household responsibilities and the quality of the learning environment.
For some children, particularly those living in vulnerable or hard-to-reach communities, barriers can begin before they reach primary school.
This is why UBEC is calling for early childhood development to be treated as a broader national priority rather than as an isolated education programme.
Developmental Challenges Begin Early
The commission’s reference to developmental outcomes among younger children underscores the importance of interventions before children reach primary-school age.
A child’s early years can influence later educational participation and learning. If children do not receive adequate nutrition, healthcare, stimulation, protection and early learning opportunities, they may face additional difficulties when they enter formal education.
UBEC has therefore urged states to approach early childhood development through multiple sectors, including education, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, women’s affairs and social welfare.
The approach reflects the reality that education outcomes are not determined by schools alone.
A child arriving at school hungry, unwell, developmentally delayed or without adequate support at home may face challenges that cannot be solved solely through classroom teaching.
UBEC Pushes States to Act
Garba urged state governments to incorporate ECCDE interventions into their State Matching Grant Action Plans.
She warned that programmes not included in the plans would not receive funding, procurement or monitoring attention.
The commission also extended the deadline for states to submit their ECCDE Action Plans for the next intervention year from September 30 to October 5, 2026.
The deadline was presented as an opportunity for states to translate the newly developed ECCDE Minimum Standards and Implementation Guidelines into practical programmes.
The emphasis on state action is significant because education delivery in Nigeria involves federal, state and local institutions, with states playing an important role in implementing programmes and providing services to children.
Effective implementation will therefore depend not only on federal policy but also on whether state governments develop workable plans, allocate resources and monitor results.
Fragmentation Remains a Challenge
Another issue highlighted at the workshop was the fragmented nature of early childhood development programmes.
UBEC Acting Director of Special Programmes and Early Childhood, Dr Chijioke Onwuzurike, said Nigeria has more than 45 early childhood development delivery channels spread across areas including health, nutrition, education, agriculture and social protection.
However, the existence of multiple channels does not automatically translate into effective services.
Onwuzurike said the multiplicity of programmes had resulted in fragmentation, duplication and inconsistent service delivery.
She said states are expected over the next 18 months to map and streamline their existing platforms, establish functional multi-sectoral coordination mechanisms and strengthen the capacity of frontline workers responsible for screening and follow-up.
Better coordination could help reduce duplication and make it easier for governments and development partners to identify children who need assistance.
UNICEF Highlights Importance of School Readiness
UNICEF also stressed the importance of early childhood development during the Abuja workshop.
UNICEF Nigeria Education Specialist Yetunde Oluwatosin said getting early childhood development right was critical to addressing Nigeria’s out-of-school challenge.
The argument is that school readiness begins well before a child arrives at the primary school gate.
Children need adequate preparation to enter school at the appropriate age, remain in education and progress through the system. Where early development is neglected, problems may emerge later as poor attendance, weak learning outcomes or eventual withdrawal from school.
This places greater responsibility on policymakers to look at education as a continuous process rather than treating primary school as the starting point.
A Wider National Learning Problem
The UBEC warning is consistent with broader evidence showing that Nigeria faces serious foundational learning challenges.
UNICEF has previously reported that more than 70 per cent of Nigerian children lack foundational literacy and numeracy skills. UNICEF’s 2024 situation analysis also found substantial inequalities in basic reading skills, with children from wealthier households significantly more likely to possess core reading abilities than children from poorer households.
The organisation reported that 66 per cent of children in the richest wealth quintile had core reading skills, compared with only 4 per cent among children in the poorest quintile.
That gap shows that Nigeria’s learning crisis is also closely connected to socioeconomic inequality.
Children do not experience the education system under identical conditions. Location, household income, access to services and the availability of quality schools can significantly influence learning outcomes.
Why the Figures Matter
The inability of children to read simple text at age 10 has consequences beyond individual academic performance.
Foundational literacy is closely connected to later educational achievement and a person’s ability to participate effectively in society and the economy.
Children who leave basic education without adequate reading, writing and numeracy skills may face greater difficulties in further education, vocational training and employment.
For Nigeria, the implications are particularly significant because the country has a large and growing young population.
A weak foundational education system can therefore become a long-term economic and social challenge. Conversely, improving early learning could strengthen the country’s human capital and help more young people acquire the skills needed to participate productively in the economy.
The figures also underline why increasing school enrolment alone cannot be considered sufficient evidence of educational progress.
Children must not only enter classrooms; they must learn.
What Happens Next
The immediate focus is expected to shift towards implementation of ECCDE plans by state governments.
UBEC has instructed states to incorporate early childhood interventions into their action plans and has warned that programmes excluded from those plans will not receive the necessary funding, procurement or monitoring attention.
The commission also expects states to work towards stronger coordination of early childhood development programmes over the coming 18 months.
For the federal government, state governments and development partners, the larger challenge will be turning policy documents and funding commitments into measurable improvements in children’s learning.
That will require sustained attention to teacher quality, early childhood provision, learning materials, school infrastructure, child nutrition, parental engagement, inclusion and monitoring.
The scale of the problem means progress is unlikely to come from a single programme or institution.
Nigeria’s learning crisis requires coordinated action across the education system and the wider services that shape children’s development.
Conclusion
UBEC’s warning that about 70 per cent of Nigerian 10-year-olds cannot read and understand a simple text is a serious indicator of the country’s foundational learning challenge.
The figure should not be interpreted simply as a measure of children’s classroom performance. It points to deeper questions about early childhood development, school readiness, teaching quality, poverty, retention and the ability of education systems to convert enrolment into meaningful learning.
With about 10 million young children reportedly outside early childhood education, policymakers face a challenge that begins before primary school.
The central issue is therefore not merely getting more children into classrooms. It is ensuring that children enter school prepared to learn, remain in education and acquire the foundational skills needed to progress.
For Nigeria, the task ahead is clear: strengthen early childhood development, improve foundational learning and ensure that education spending produces measurable learning outcomes for children across the country.
Weng Global – stories beyond borders
Sources
- Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC)
- Voice of Nigeria (VON)
- UNICEF Nigeria
- The Guardian Nigeria
- THISDAY
