Dr Tunji Alausa Unveils Nationwide Household Mapping to Tackle Out-of-School Children

Dr Tunji Alausa Alausa Unveils Nationwide Household Mapping to Tackle Out-of-School Children
Adopts Kaduna’s Household Model
Governor Uba Sani praised Alausa and the Minister of State for Education for driving reforms in the education sector, describing their leadership as inspiring to state governments

The Federal Government has adopted Kaduna State’s household mapping model as a national strategy to identify and return out-of-school children to classrooms, marking a major shift from estimate-based planning to a data-driven approach.

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Dr Tunji Alausa Alausa Unveils Nationwide Household Mapping to Tackle Out-of-School Children

Eko Hot Blog reports that the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, announced the decision during a meeting with Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, saying the initiative would provide accurate information needed to tackle one of Nigeria’s biggest education challenges.

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Under the new framework, the Federal Ministry of Education will work with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to conduct a nationwide household mapping exercise across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The exercise is expected to identify the exact number of out-of-school children, their locations and the households they belong to, enabling governments to implement targeted interventions.

Alausa said the new approach would replace reliance on broad estimates, which have often made it difficult to effectively address the problem.

“For many years, planning was based largely on projections that could not accurately show where out-of-school children were located. This mapping exercise will provide verified data that will guide policy decisions and ensure interventions reach the children who need them most,” he said.

The minister cited Kaduna State as an example, noting that while previous estimates placed the number of out-of-school children in the state at about 585,000, the household mapping exercise conducted by the state government revealed that the actual figure is fewer than 200,000.

“With this exercise, we now know where these children are and the households they belong to. That gives us the opportunity to work closely with the Kaduna State Government to bring them back to school,” he added.

Alausa commended Governor Uba Sani for introducing a model that has improved education planning through accurate data and informed decision-making.

Dr Tunji Alausa Alausa Unveils Nationwide Household Mapping to Tackle Out-of-School Children

He disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education had already begun working with the National Bureau of Statistics to replicate the methodology nationwide, expressing confidence that the exercise would improve planning, resource allocation and monitoring of efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children.

In his remarks, Governor Uba Sani praised Alausa and the Minister of State for Education for driving reforms in the education sector, describing their leadership as inspiring to state governments.

He also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for supporting education reforms, saying the Federal Government’s commitment had created the momentum for meaningful improvements across the country.

Dr Tunji Alausa Alausa Unveils Nationwide Household Mapping to Tackle Out-of-School Children

The governor reaffirmed Kaduna State’s commitment to collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Education, expressing satisfaction that the state’s household mapping exercise had been adopted as the national model.

Alausa assured Nigerians that no child would be left behind, stressing that the nationwide mapping exercise would provide reliable data to strengthen collaboration with states and development partners, improve school enrolment and support the objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda.