In a bid to address Nigeria’s growing out-of-school children crisis, the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration announced on Wednesday, November 27, the introduction of a conditional cash transfer initiative aimed at increasing school enrollment and reducing the alarming number of children outside the formal education system.
The initiative is designed to encourage parents to send their children to school by offering financial support, which will help supplement family income and ease the cost of education.
Speaking at the stakeholders’ consultative dialogue on the Education Sector Renewal Initiative (ESRI) 2024-2027 in Abuja, Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, outlined other key initiatives to be implemented alongside the cash transfers. These include the integration of out-of-school children (OOSC) and Almajiri into formal education, school feeding programs, and Social and Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) to promote education for girls and vulnerable groups.
Alausa acknowledged the numerous challenges facing Nigeria’s education sector, including infrastructural decay, funding issues, and a lack of reliable data, which have contributed to the country’s position as home to the largest number of out-of-school children globally.
“With an estimated 18.3 million children out of school, Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children in the world, a situation that we are committed to addressing through these new initiatives,” Alausa said.
The new conditional cash transfer program forms part of the government’s broader effort to provide inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all Nigerians, in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
