The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has raised alarm that about 10 million Nigerian children are excluded from early childhood care, development and education (ECCDE), warning that the gap is driving poor learning outcomes nationwide.
UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr Aisha Garba, spoke in Abuja at the opening of a three-day capacity-building workshop for state actors on the use of the ECCDE Minimum Standards, Implementation Guidelines and UNICEF Parental and Community Engagement documents.
Garba who was represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary, Technical, Rasaq Olajuwon Akinyemi, said data shows only 35.6 per cent of children aged 36 to 59 months are enrolled in any form of early childhood education, which leaves an estimated 10 million young children outside the ECCDE system.
She said the challenge is worsened by early developmental setbacks, with the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey indicating that 46 per cent of children between 24 and 59 months are developmentally off track.
She explained that the effect of weak early learning becomes clearer as children advance in school. Currently, 70 per cent of 10-year-olds in Nigeria cannot read and comprehend a simple passage, and of the 5.9 million pupils who enrol in primary one annually, only about 2.4 million are still in school by the end of junior secondary school.
According to her, early childhood development should be treated as an integrated national priority and not as an isolated education programme.
She noted that investment in the early years offers the highest return in the education chain, referencing Nobel Laureate James Heckman’s finding of about 13 per cent annual return per child on quality birth-to-five programmes.
Garba charged states to mainstream ECCDE in their State Matching Grant Action Plans, stating bluntly that any intervention not captured in the Action Plan will not be funded, procured or monitored.
She announced an extension of the submission deadline for the next intervention year’s ECCDE Action Plans from September 30 to October 5, 2026, but cautioned that the grace period should not be taken as an excuse for delay. Plans submitted after the new deadline, she said, will not be considered.
She said every state is expected to leave the workshop in Abuja with a costed, integrated and inclusive draft, present it to its SUBEB Chairman upon return, and upload the final version via the digital planning template within the window.
Garba also directed states to design ECCDE around the whole child by collaborating with relevant sectors including health, nutrition, water and sanitation, women affairs, social welfare and Local Government Education Authorities.
She cited the 2023-24 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey which puts stunting in children under five at 40 per cent nationally, with a sharp disparity between 12 per cent in Rivers State and 65 per cent in Katsina State.
The UBEC boss added that ECCDE centres must meet basic safety standards including supervision and safeguarding, food and water safety, structural integrity and emergency exits.
Garba further called for deliberate inclusion of children with disabilities and those in hard-to-reach, nomadic, riverine and conflict-affected communities, as well as stronger partnership with parents, caregivers, School-Based Management Committees, traditional rulers and faith-based institutions who can help reach children outside conventional classrooms.
In her remarks, Acting Director of Special Programmes and Early Childhood at UBEC, Dr Chijioke J. Onwuzurike, said Nigeria operates over 45 early childhood development delivery channels across health, nutrition, education, agriculture and social protection.
She said the large number of platforms has led to fragmentation, duplication, poor data sharing and uneven service delivery. She said UBEC expects states in the next 18 months to map and streamline their ECD platforms, set up functional multi-sectoral coordination systems and build the capacity of frontline workers for screening and follow-up so that children do not fall through cracks between sectors.
She stressed that school readiness is largely determined before a child gets to primary school and urged participants to treat the ECCDE Minimum Standards and Implementation Guidelines as working documents.
On her part, UNICEF Nigeria Education Specialist, Yetunde Oluwatosin, said early childhood development is central to tackling Nigeria’s out-of-school problem. She compared it to the foundation of a building, noting that when the foundation is solid, children are more likely to enrol at the right age, stay in school and progress.
The workshop, organised by UBEC’s Department of Special Programmes and Early Childhood in collaboration with UNICEF, brought together SUBEB Directors of Special Programmes, ECCDE Desk Officers and other UBEC officials to strengthen state capacity for planning, financing, implementation, monitoring, data management and community engagement on ECCDE.
