Niger, in the north-central, has one of the worst rates of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
Mariam Biliaminu, 12, dropped out of school in primary four in November 2023. Her mother, Aisha, said she withdrew the child from school to cut her expenses. The single mother of four needed Mariam to stay home and help look after her younger siblings because her school was far from their house.
"My decision was because I feel the younger ones should go to school, and since she's the oldest amongst them, she would be able to assist and take care of her siblings when I am not around," Mrs Biliaminu said.
"My husband has abandoned me and my children here at Madallah, and I have been the one catering for them. Things are hard. I clean people's homes and fry Awara very early in the morning for children and workers to buy."
She said Mariam spent N400 on transportation and another N100 for food at school, money she struggled to raise daily.
Bilikisu Iliyas, known to her neighbours as Ummuh Fridaus, also withdrew her granddaughter, Hauwa, from school. The seven-year-old was a primary one pupil at LEA primary school in Bosso Local Government Area of Niger State until the Boko Haram insurgency became a threat to the area.
In July 2023, Mrs Iliyas relocated with Hauwa and her younger brother, Sheriff, to Suleja to live with a relative who works as a bricklayer. Their father, who was her last son, had died in a road accident while their mother stayed back at Bosso.
Mrs Iliyas enrolled the two children in a public primary school in Suleja.
"Hauwa was supposed to be in primary 2, but since she did not finish the session at Bosso, she remained in class one," she said. "Her brother is in the nursery class.
"After a week, Hauwa started complaining about her torn uniform, but I was not paying attention until it became big. When I saw it, I asked her about it, and she said they sit on the bare floor in the classroom. Her writing materials, including the school bags, were always missing.
"I told my neighbour to go with her to school, and she returned to tell me Hauwa does not have a chair to sit in the classroom. She asked about the school bag, but the teacher in charge gave no response. I had to stop her from going; when it is time, she will decide what to do. For now, she keeps my company at home."
Out-of-school children
Niger, in the north-central, has one of the worst rates of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Two in five (40 per cent) primary school-age children in the state are out of school, worse than the national average of one in five (22 per cent), according to a United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) 2023 report.
Only eight of Nigeria's 36 states and Abuja have worse indices than that, all in the north-west and north-east regions.
The report states that 42 per cent of female children in Niger State are out of primary school compared with 39 per cent of their male counterparts.
Overall, 43 per cent of children of school age (primary and secondary) are out of school in Niger.
Meanwhile, the United Nations International Children Funds (UNICEF) describes access to primary education as a basic right for every child. It says education for girls reduces early marriage, increases earning potential, and empowers decision-making, leading to stronger economies and less inequality.
An investigation by this reporter into the state's primary education system shows that poverty, negligence, poor remuneration of teachers, and poor condition of the learning environment are factors contributing to the growing number of out-of-school children at the primary school level in Niger State.
Dilapidated classrooms, insecure learning environments
Visits to some primary schools show that the school environments are not conducive to learning. Most of the classrooms are dilapidated and need tables and chairs. In many schools, pupils sit on bare floors to learn.
At Awwal Ibrahim Primary School, Suleja, the classrooms are too few for the population of pupils, and the available ones are not conducive for teaching and learning.
The school premises are not secured, resulting in school property and important documents being regularly lost.
"This school is facing many challenges from inadequate facilities and insecurity," the headmaster, Mohammed Aliu, told this reporter. "Important items, including the first aid box and textbooks, were stolen from my office by unknown people since the school is not protected.
"All these have affected the enrollment of pupils in school. Some left the school because their parents felt the school environment was unsafe for learning. I sometimes come to the school early to secure it since we have no security officer there."
He said the school currently has 689 pupils, including 360 males, all crammed into 13 classrooms.
At LEA Primary School Madalla, over 800 pupils use 12 classrooms. Some classrooms do not have enough chairs, so some pupils sit on other pupils' lap during classes.
The school headmistress, Hadiza Bala, said the number of pupils increased during the federal government's school feeding programme, but many stopped attending schools after the programme stopped. She added that most of the classrooms were in bad condition, and some pupils had fainted from heat due to the congestion of classrooms.
"There are 24 blocks of classrooms, but 12 are in a bad condition. We have reached out to the appropriate authorities on the condition of our classrooms, but the classrooms have not been renovated," Mrs Bala said.
"Some of the pupils sit on bare floors to attend classrooms. There is a limit to where they can sit in the classrooms because some of the ceilings are worn out, and to avoid cases of injuries, we had to demarcate their sitting positions.
"The children's punctuality was about 99 per cent during the school feeding programme. Parents bring their children to school during that period, but since it stopped, their punctuality has reduced as some loiter around the school environment to hawk their goods.
"We have no toilets in the school. The ones we have are bad and have been locked. Pupils defecate around the school environment, and we teachers pay to defecate," the headmaster said.
Inadequate workforce, poor salaries
In many schools visited, there was insufficient teaching staff. While the government recruited some of the available teachers, others were recruited by the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) of the school.
A Federal Ministry of Education data shows that Niger State has the fifth highest number of primary school teachers in Nigeria. Yet, the state has not met the UNICEF benchmark of a 20:1 pupil-to-teacher ratio.
For instance, at Hassan Dallatu Model Nursery/Primary School in Suleja Local Government Area, there were 2,224 pupils and 36 teachers. The ratio of pupils to teachers is about 63:1 in the school.
"There are lots of challenges in the school that have to do with lack of manpower and underpayment of staff," the school's headmaster, Abdulrahman Ala, said. "We had to discuss this with the parents, and we were able to employ some people with ND and SSCE to teach these children because we have no money to recruit capable hands.
"Through its PTA, the school employed five teachers, each paid between N8000 and N10,000. Despite the pupils' population, only two toilets are available for teachers and pupils in the school."
Education falls amid poor funding
Over the years, the annual budget of the state Ministry of Education rose consistently until 2024. In 2021, N20.4 billion was allocated to the Ministry and N26.6 billion in 2022. In the next fiscal year, N36.6 billion was allocated, but the amount declined in 2024 to N30.9 billion.
The reduction in budgetary allocation this year occurs despite the NMPI data showing that Niger has the 10th highest number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
According to UNICEF, children living in emergency and fragile settings, including refugee children, have fewer chances to complete primary school. Gender also plays a role; in girls who grow up in poor households in low-income countries, only two-thirds of children are estimated to complete primary school. Girls are more likely than their male peers to have never attended school or to drop out of primary school.
Expert's view
A public health expert, Mercy Ironbar, stressed the importance of education, especially for the girl child. She said there should be equal opportunities for both genders. When the parents or the society lack the essentials for quality education, the government should ensure that the children's right to quality education is met, she said.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"The essence of education can never be overemphasised. If girls aren't educated, they tend to be dependent on men. Society has already made it look like women are second-class citizens and inferior to men.
"Not being educated puts women three steps back. If you do research now, you will also realise that Gender-Based Violence is most prevalent among the uneducated; they do not even know their rights. In the future, inequality will only be higher than it is if we continue to have less educated women," Mrs Ironbar said.
"The government can partner with organisations to raise awareness of the need to empower the girl child and sponsor research on this issue to understand the root causes more. The government should give scholarships to students in primary school and fund activities that encourage learning behaviour among girls."
Teachers' union leader speaks; government official mum
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) chairman in Niger State, Adamu Akayago, told this reporter that the poor condition of schools is one of the factors contributing to the number of out-of-primary-school children in the state.
"Most of our schools in Niger State are in a sorry state. About 80 per cent of these schools are in bad condition, and no parent will want their child to attend such schools," Mr Akayago said. "Aside from the classroom conditions, teachers are underpaid, and it's impossible to underpay teachers and expect maximum discharge of duties from them."
"We have been advocating for a better condition of primary school education because the educational foundation matters in the life of children who intend to grow and succeed," Mr Akayago said.
Niger State has not domesticated the Freedom of Information Act. However, this reporter contacted the state's commissioner for education, Hannatu Saliu, on phone, for this story. After she listened to the questions, Ms Saliu refused to speak on the topic.
The story was supported with funding from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).
