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Education

KADA EduPACT Summit 2025 Offers Lessons in Addressing Nigeria's Educational Crisis

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The recent KADA EduPACT International Summit 2025 in Kaduna, Nigeria, brought together global leaders, policymakers, and educators to address the nation's deepening educational quagmire. The summit highlighted Kaduna's ambitious reforms, such as reducing tertiary fees by up to 50 per cent, returning over 200,000 out-of-school children to classrooms, and enhancing technical and vocational education and training (TVET). With Nigeria's national crisis of over 20 million out-of-school children and the worst West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results in five years, the summit's lessons offer a roadmap for redemption.

Key Takeaways:

  • The summit emphasized education's role in fostering resilience against poverty and insecurity, with keynote addresses from UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed.
  • Kaduna's fee reductions at institutions like Kaduna State University and Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic boosted enrolment and retention, with fee reductions from N150,000 to N105,000 and N100,000 to N50,000, respectively.
  • Discussions highlighted the importance of digital learning and equity, with sessions on amplifying girls' voices, ensuring AI-access for all children, and promoting digital literacy in underserved areas.
  • The summit emphasized the need for partnerships with United Nations agencies, mindset shifts for systemic change, and practical follow-through, including capacity-building workshops for the Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (KADSUBEB).
  • Kaduna's model of fee subsidies and enrolment drives could be replicated federally, addressing the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) warnings of a 'crisis of great magnitude' where enrolled children often fail to learn.
  • The summit's TVET emphasis tackles youth unemployment, blending practical skills with academics, akin to the Igbo apprenticeship system or Germany's dual education system, where apprenticeships yield low youth unemployment rates (around 5 per cent).
  • Nigeria could adapt this by shortening primary education to five years, emphasizing Information Technology (IT) and entrepreneurship in universities, and creating SME banks for graduates.

Statistics:

  • 20 million children remain out of school in Nigeria.
  • Only 38 per cent of students passed the recent West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), marking the worst performance in five years.
  • Kaduna invests nearly 30 per cent of its budget in education, mirroring Kano's recent allocation, while the national average hovers below UNESCO's 20-25 per cent benchmark.
  • Billions are poured into unfinished infrastructure, such as stalled Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) campuses or university branches, highlighting misplaced priorities.
  • 40 per cent of children in rural areas are engaged in child labour.

Sources:

  • UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed's keynote address at the KADA EduPACT International Summit 2025.
  • KADSUBEB's capacity-building workshops on systems thinking.
  • The Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) and Arewa Consultative Forum's initiatives for inclusive reforms.
  • Rwanda's post-genocide education revival, which boosted enrolment from 60 per cent to 98 per cent.
  • The Igbo apprenticeship system and Germany's dual education system.
  • UNESCO's 20-25 per cent benchmark for educational allocation.

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