Posted by Chinenye on Wed 30th Sep, 2026 - tori.ng
UBEC says about 10 million children in Nigeria are not getting early childhood education.
(School Children. Photo by Tribune Online)
At least 10 million young children in Nigeria are not enrolled in early childhood education, according to the Universal Basic Education Commission.
UBEC said this is hurting how well children learn and grow.
The Executive Secretary, Dr Aisha Garba, spoke in Abuja at a three day workshop for state officials.
She was represented by Deputy Executive Secretary Rasaq Olajuwon Akinyemi.
She said only 35.6 percent of children aged 3 to 5 attend any early childhood school.
A 2021 survey also found that about 46 percent of children aged 2 to 5 are behind in their development.
She added that about 70 percent of Nigerian 10 year olds cannot read and understand a simple text.
Out of 5.9 million children who start primary school each year, only about 2.4 million are still in school by the end of junior secondary.
Garba said early childhood education should be a national priority and not a stand alone programme.
She said there is no cheaper place in the school system to get good results, and pointed to an estimate by Nobel winner James Heckman that quality programmes for children up to age five give about 13 percent yearly return per child.
She told states to add early childhood plans to their State Matching Grant Action Plans, warning that anything left out will not get money, supplies or monitoring.
The deadline to submit plans has moved from September 30 to October 5, 2026.
She said it is not a reason to delay and late plans will not be accepted.
States were told to go home with a costed draft plan, show it to their Executive Chairman and send the final version online.
Garba also asked states to work with health, nutrition, water, women affairs and social welfare offices, as well as local education authorities.
She noted that 40 percent of children under five in Nigeria are stunted, from 12 percent in Rivers to 65 percent in Katsina.
She asked states to make sure centres are safe, well supervised and have safe food, water, buildings and emergency exits.
Children with disabilities and those in far away, nomadic, riverine and conflict areas must not be left out.
She also called for more work with parents, school committees, traditional rulers and religious bodies.
Earlier, Dr Chijioke Onwuzurike of UBEC said Nigeria has more than 45 different programmes delivering early childhood services across health, nutrition, education, farming and social protection.
She said this has caused confusion, with programmes repeating each other, not sharing data and giving uneven service.
Every state is expected to map and simplify its programmes within the next 18 months.