FG Introduces National Campaign to Address Learning Crisis in Nigeria

The Federal Government has launched an intensive national campaign to end the learning crisis at the basic level of education in the country.

The programme, the national launch of “End Learning Poverty For All in Africa (ELPAF)” is being supported by the African Union (AU) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to address the challenge of children who are in schools and are not learning.

According to a report by UNICEF, Nigeria faces a severe learning crisis with over 70 percent of children lacking foundational literacy and numeracy skills. The estimated number of children in schools who are unable to read and comprehend a simple sentence by the age of 10.

Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Said Ahmad in her keynote address at the event, said the statistics were a wake-up call in Nigeria, as in many parts of the continent where children are in classrooms, but not necessarily learning.

She lamented that statistics speak for themselves across Africa, with so many children under the age of 10 who cannot read and understand a simple story.

The Minister who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Abel Enitan, said: “Learning poverty is not merely an academic failure, it is a developmental emergency. It holds back human capital, reduces future income, limits civic participation, and perpetuates inequality.

“This is the aim of the ELPAF Campaign: ‘End Learning Poverty for All in Africa which is both timely and critical. It reminds us that education must be delivered on its premise, and that every child, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or class must have access to quality and equity for foundational learning.

“I am aware that the effect of poverty in education leads to a lack of educational resources in schools and sometimes could hinder learning without providing good facilities, teaching materials, textbooks, and classroom resources,” she stated.

She, however, reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government to address the challenge of learning poverty in the country, saying the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration has also launched a programme “Out-of-School Children Education Initiative” which aims to reintegrate over 20 million out-of-school children into the education system.

She drew attention of the stakeholders at the event to the demonstration of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to transform Nigeria’s education sector, which was prioritized as a key driver of national development and youth empowerment, for a brighter future.

She revealed that a record N3.52 trillion was allocated to the education sector in the 2025 federal budget, marking a 61.47 per cent increase from the previous year, stressing that this funding aims to improve infrastructure, expand student financing, and increase access to quality education.

“The administration launched the Data Repository initiative to provide reliable education data, enabling better planning and monitoring of student progress.

“The Nigerian Education Loan Fund provides interest-free loans to students, promoting equity and inclusiveness in education financing. Over 600,000 students have registered, with approximately N56.85 billion disbursed.

“The administration emphasizes skill acquisition and technical education, modernizing technical colleges and introducing dual-training models focused on hands-on skills.

“The supports teacher training and development, with a focus on improving teacher quality and introducing a Teacher Internship and Quality Assurance Framework,” she stated.

The Minister, however, called on State governments to prioritise education by increasing funding. She argued that education is in the concurrent list and that basic education institutions are mostly owned and controlled by the state governments.

African Union representative at the event, Dr. Mahaman Bachir, said AU was concerned about the learning crisis in the African continent and expressed commitment to through the ELPAF campaign support nations of the continent improve on basic education delivery and eradicating the challenge of learning poverty.