UBEC and Traditional Monarchs Unite to Tackle Education Crisis

The partnership between the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and traditional monarchs aims to tackle Nigeria's severe out-of-school crisis, which affects at least 10.2 million children, according to UNICEF's 2025 report. Gombe State Governor Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya cited a higher figure of 18 million out-of-school children, highlighting the issue as a development emergency and a threat to regional security.

The Federal Government, through Minister of Education Dr Tunji Alausa, reported that over one million children have returned to classrooms in 30 months, aided by a geo-tagging exercise to identify excluded learners. Sultan Abubakar, during a signing ceremony in Argungu, stated that street begging is not sanctioned by Islam, aiming to dismantle cultural barriers to school enrolment.

Traditional leaders will deploy local monitoring teams to identify out-of-school children and encourage parents to support education, although challenges remain due to the lack of schools and safety concerns.