The Nigerian Government has adopted Kaduna State’s household mapping model as the national framework for identifying out-of-school children, in a major policy shift aimed at replacing estimate-based planning with verified data to tackle Nigeria’s education access crisis.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced that the new approach would be implemented across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with the Federal Ministry of Education partnering the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to conduct a nationwide household mapping exercise.

According to the minister, the initiative will identify the exact number of out-of-school children, where they live and the households they belong to, enabling governments at all levels to deploy targeted interventions and improve school enrolment and retention.

Alausa unveiled the policy during a meeting with Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, describing it as a decisive step towards addressing one of Nigeria’s most pressing education challenges.

He said the Federal Government was moving away from years of relying on broad estimates that often failed to accurately capture the scale and location of out-of-school children.

“Planning has largely been based on projections that could not accurately show where out-of-school children were located. This exercise changes that by providing verified information that will guide policy decisions and ensure interventions reach the children who need them most,” he said.

The minister cited Kaduna State as evidence of the benefits of the approach, noting that while previous estimates put the state’s out-of-school population at about 585,000, a household mapping exercise conducted by the state government revealed the actual figure to be fewer than 200,000.

“With this exercise, we now know where these children are and the households they belong to. That gives us the opportunity to work closely with the Kaduna State Government to bring them back to school,” Alausa said.

He commended Governor Uba Sani for pioneering the initiative, saying the exercise had provided a clearer understanding of the challenge and demonstrated how accurate data could strengthen education planning and service delivery.

The minister disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education had already begun working with the National Bureau of Statistics to replicate the Kaduna model nationwide.

He expressed confidence that the exercise would equip the government with reliable data to improve planning, allocate resources more efficiently and monitor progress in reducing the number of out-of-school children across the country.

Alausa also assured Nigerians that the Federal Government remained committed to ensuring that no child was left behind in its efforts to expand access to education.

He said the nationwide household mapping exercise would strengthen collaboration between the Federal Government, state governments and development partners while supporting practical interventions to identify, enrol and retain more children in school in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Also speaking, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani commended the Minister of Education and the Minister of State for Education for the reforms being implemented in the sector, describing their leadership as inspiring to state governments.

The governor also praised President Bola Tinubu for prioritising education, saying the Federal Government’s commitment had created the momentum for meaningful reforms nationwide.

He reaffirmed Kaduna State’s commitment to partnering with the Federal Ministry of Education to improve access to quality education and expressed satisfaction that the state’s household mapping initiative had been adopted as the national model for tackling the out-of-school children challenge.