The Nigerian Senate has announced plans to organise a national summit addressing the alarming rise in out-of-school children, following revelations that Nigeria leads globally with 20 million children without access to education.
The decision came after a presentation by Senator Lawal Usman, Chair of the Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary), during Tuesday’s plenary session. The initiative aims to tackle what Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin described as “a ticking time bomb.”
According to UNESCO’s 2022 report, Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis has reached unprecedented levels, prompting urgent calls for intervention from both federal and state governments.
“We cannot continue to put all the problems on the doorstep of the federal government,” declared Senator Solomon Olamilekan (Ogun West), criticising the state government’s failure to provide counterpart funds for universal basic education initiatives.

Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, expressed particular concern for northern Nigeria, emphasising that “Islam does not allow the roaming of children on the streets.” He called for immediate reorientation and stakeholder engagement to address the crisis.
Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi North) highlighted Nigeria’s unique position as the only country globally with over 20 million out-of-school children, strongly endorsing the proposed national conference for collaborative solution-finding between federal and state governments.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio put the proposal to a vote, securing adoption for the summit, though a specific date remains pending.
The summit aims to bring together stakeholders from all levels of government to develop comprehensive strategies for addressing this educational crisis that threatens Nigeria’s future development.
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