FG Launches Literacy Initiative for 500,000 Out-of-School Children, 1 Million Girls
FG Launches Literacy Initiative for 500,000 Out-of-School Children, 1 Million Girls
The Federal Government on Tuesday launched two key literacy and empowerment initiatives aimed at addressing Nigeria’s growing out-of-school population. The programmes have a combined target of enrolling 500,000 learners and providing education and empowerment opportunities to one million underserved girls nationwide.
Speaking at the headquarters of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education in Abuja, the Acting Executive Secretary, Dr. John Onimisi, disclosed that the commission had begun training enumerators on the use of automated data tools to identify young people who had either dropped out of school or never had the opportunity to continue their education.
Onimisi explained that the intervention, which will be implemented in phases across all 774 local government areas, is expected to return over 500,000 learners to classrooms in its first phase, offering them both literacy and vocational training.
“Our goal is to ensure that these learners are enrolled in non-formal education centres and are able to complete the programme successfully. Some may also progress into vocational training programmes after graduation,” he added.
He disclosed that 376 enumerators from the 36 states and the FCT had already been trained, while 250 facilitators would drive the exercise in Abuja.
Monitoring, he added, would be done in real time through a dashboard linked to the National Identity Management System.
In a related development, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission, Dr. Aisha Garba, announced the formal migration of the LUMINAH 2030 Initiative from the Federal Ministry of Education to UBEC to ensure sustainability and institutional backing.
Garba, represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical) of UBEC, Razaq Akinyemi, explained that the initiative—launched in 2025 with support from the World Bank—aims to educate and economically empower one million underserved Nigerian girls by 2030.
“Lumina lights the way to education and empowerment. It combines schooling, skills training, caregiver support, and community engagement to tackle the root causes of girls’ exclusion from education,” she said.
She noted that the programme is aligned with UBEC’s 10-year roadmap and will deliver vocational training, financial assistance for caregivers, and safe learning environments for girls in 12 states, including Yobe, Taraba, Kano, Jigawa, Ebonyi, Anambra, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom.
Officials emphasized that the interventions reflect a renewed federal commitment to closing Nigeria’s literacy gap. UNICEF estimates that Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children globally, with more than 18 million dropping out of primary and secondary school, especially in the North-East and North-West.
Stakeholders, including the Neem Foundation, pledged support for the programmes, describing them as transformative efforts to combat illiteracy, poverty, and gender inequality in the country.
