Educating Nigeria

Every Nigerian child has the constitutional right to free and compulsory primary education, and free secondary education, yet there remains a huge gap between that law and the reality. One in every five of the world’s out-of-school children lives in Nigeria.

In a nation with one of the world’s youngest populations, this lack of access to education could potentially cost the country its future. Its government recently acknowledged that there are 10.5 million children not being educated.

It’s a complex picture which includes underfunding, a lack of skilled teachers – and an issue of safety. In the northern states, communities have experienced a decade of bandits targeting schools and kidnapping children for ransom.

BBC Africa journalist Yemisi Adegoke hears from parents and students at the sharp end of this crisis, discovers more about what is being done to get children into school despite insecurity, and asks the difficult questions to those in power.

(Photo: A boy stands next to a swing frame in the playground of Zion Baptist secondary school in Jos, 27 February, 2025. (Credit: Olympia de Maismont/AFP)