Kaduna Tackles Out-of-School Crisis With ROOSC Project to Enrol 100,000 Children — Ezra Angai

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The Kaduna State Government is leading what it describes as a “quiet but powerful revolution” in education through the Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROOSC) Project, a $62.8 million initiative aimed at bringing 100,000 out-of-school children back to classrooms across the state.

Ezra Angai, Project Coordinator of the Kaduna State ROOSC Project, disclosed this on Friday during a media parley in Kaduna to mark International Literacy Day 2026.

Angai said the 2026 celebration, observed globally on September 8, marked 60 years since the first International Literacy Day was declared in Tehran, Iran, in 1966.

He noted that while progress had been made, the latest UNESCO data indicated that 739 million people worldwide still lacked literacy skills, with more than 400 million of them being girls and many living in rural and hard-to-reach communities.

“Literacy has evolved. Your ability to read and write alone is not enough to navigate a complex world. Now, we’re talking about a world of AI, digital media, technical and vocational skills,” Angai said.

He explained that the 2026 theme, “Literacy for People, Literacy for Planets, and Literacy for Prosperity,” required moving beyond basic reading and numeracy to acquiring skills that enable individuals to earn a livelihood and contribute meaningfully to society.

Speaking on Nigeria’s challenge, Angai said UNICEF estimated that 18 million children were out of school.

He commended the Federal Government’s efforts under the Renewed Hope Agenda and the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, for promoting data-driven reforms, including the digital collection of data through the 2025/2026 Annual School Census.

Angai highlighted Kaduna’s leadership role, saying, “Kaduna was the first state in Nigeria to collect over 98 per cent of its data using the D-NEMIS system.”

He added that the state allocated more than 25 per cent of its annual budget to education, well above UNESCO’s recommended range of 15 to 20 per cent and the national average of six per cent.

On the ROOSC Project, Angai said Kaduna was the only state implementing a comprehensive programme targeting out-of-school children.

The $62.8 million investment is supported by 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.

He said the project began with one of Nigeria’s most detailed mapping exercises, covering 360,000 households and identifying 187,719 out-of-school children, while recording their names, addresses and reasons for dropping out of school.

“Over 90 per cent of our out-of-school children are out of school because of household issues. More tellingly, about 57 per cent of that population are boys who have to work on farms or in other ventures,” Angai said.

To address the challenge, the project is constructing 102 new schools and renovating 170 others. Angai said 42 sites were currently active, including 16 new schools.

The project is also integrating Sangayas into formal education by introducing foundational literacy, numeracy and life skills, as well as rolling out the Accelerated Basic Education Programme (ABEP) for overage children between the ages of 11 and 17. The programme compresses basic education into two years and six months.

Other interventions include the distribution of 44,000 teaching and learning materials, uniforms and more than 2,000 menstrual hygiene kits for girls. In hard-to-reach areas affected by insecurity, radio-based learning is being utilised.

Angai said the project had also conducted disability assessments with support from Save the Children International and provided assistive devices to children with disabilities.

He cited the case of “Israel,” a boy with weak limbs who received a wheelchair and a standing frame to support physiotherapy, improve his mobility and ease the burden on his mother, who also cares for his siblings.

To ensure that students remain enrolled, the project operates a four-tier monitoring system comprising a digital database; weekly and monthly reviews by Save the Children; case workers assigned to school clusters; and quarterly joint monitoring involving the Project Management Unit (PMU), State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Quality Assurance Department, Ministry of Education and development partners.

Community coalitions, including traditional rulers, religious leaders, School-Based Management Committee chairpersons and parents, also support enrolment and retention efforts.

Angai said the Minister of Education had expressed interest in adopting Kaduna’s mapping model nationwide.

“Is the funding sufficient? It is enough for us to carry out this programme and re-enrol 100,000 out-of-school children over the next four years,” he said.

He reaffirmed the central goal of the ROOSC Project, saying: “Every child deserves access to quality and inclusive education.”