One year after the Federal Government introduced the National Policy on Non-State Schools in Nigeria (NPNSN) to strengthen the regulation and quality of private education, findings have shown that none of Nigeria’s 36 states has fully domesticated the policy, despite the increasing role of non-state schools in the country’s education system.
The policy, launched on July 16, 2025, was developed by the Federal Ministry of Education to provide a uniform framework for regulating non-state education providers, including private schools, faith-based schools, community-owned schools, home-schooling centres and other privately managed learning institutions. Its primary objective is to ensure that all learners, regardless of the type of school they attend, receive education that meets nationally approved standards.
Findings by The Nigeria Education News indicate that while the policy has been in existence for a year, implementation at the state level has remained slow because each state must domesticate the framework before it can become fully operational within its jurisdiction.
Data from the NPNSN Domestication Tracker shows that no state has completed the domestication process since the policy was launched.
The findings reveal that Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa have progressed to policy review stages, while Osun and Ekiti are still developing draft frameworks. Rivers State already operates a regulatory structure that aligns with several components of the national policy but has yet to begin formal domestication. Most of the remaining states have not publicly commenced the process.
The delay comes at a time when non-state schools continue to account for a significant share of school enrolment across Nigeria. Rising enrolment in private schools, driven by increasing demand for alternatives to public education, has expanded the sector considerably over the past decade.
The National Policy on Non-State Schools was designed to address gaps in the regulation of the sector by establishing common standards for school registration, licensing, quality assurance, teacher qualification, curriculum implementation, school governance, learner protection, infrastructure, monitoring and accountability.
The framework also seeks to improve collaboration between governments and non-state school operators, strengthen education data collection and ensure that privately managed schools comply with national education standards.
Findings further indicate that without state domestication, many of the policy’s provisions cannot be effectively enforced. This means that existing variations in school regulation, approval procedures, inspection systems and operational standards will continue across different states.
The slow implementation also affects efforts to establish a harmonised system for monitoring non-state schools, many of which have expanded rapidly in urban and semi-urban communities in response to increasing demand for access to education.
Another objective of the policy is to create a balance between encouraging private investment in education and ensuring that school proprietors comply with minimum standards relating to safety, learning facilities, teacher quality and child protection.
The framework equally provides guidance on partnerships between governments and non-state education providers to improve access to education, particularly in underserved communities where private schools often complement public education services.
Findings show that although the Federal Government has provided the policy framework, responsibility for implementation now rests largely with state governments through legislative, administrative and regulatory processes.
Until the domestication process is completed across the states, the full objectives of the National Policy on Non-State Schools including improved regulation, uniform quality standards and stronger oversight of Nigeria’s expanding private education sector will remain largely unrealised.
