Attachments
1 Introduction
The prolonged crises in the Northeast Nigeria have denied significant number of children their fundamental right to education. Despite years of humanitarian support, access to education remains a significant challenge, especially for children on the move, both internally displaced within camp settings and those living outside of camps. Schools located in the host communities face severe constraints, lacking the capacity to absorb additional children. Across the BAY states, approximately 2.2 million people are displaced, with 52 percent of them being school-age children (3-17 years) residing in camps and camp-like settings, as reported by IOM mobility tracking round 45 report in 2023. According to the report, in 2023 approximately 32 per cent of school-age children residing in both the formal camps and informal camps have never received any form of education. The report also indicates that in 157 camps and camp-like settings, there were no education activities, and consequently, no children had the opportunity to attend school.
Poverty is a key driver of insecurity in communities and the need for children to support family income prevents them from attending schools. In addition, the worsening economic conditions in the country and rise in costs of living is limiting access to education beyond the reach of the crises-affected parents. The 2023 Multidimensional Child Poverty Measurement study highlights that older children, aged 15-17, experience greater schooling deprivation compared to younger children, aged 5-14, due to their involvement in supporting their families' livelihoods.
Prevailing gender norms promote early marriage and childbearing. At the same time, communities, teachers, students, and parents have lost trust in public schools to provide safe learning environments and quality services, further reducing demand for public education. In addition, insecurity around schools; and school occupation in the three states are posing significant obstacles for the children to access education. In the northeast of Nigeria, the education sector is significantly impacted by a combination of existing gaps in response mechanisms and inherent weaknesses in public education services.
This assessment aims to improve the availability of data and evidence to support strategic planning, response, and preparedness at country level for education in emergencies (EiE) actors. This is critical because EiE interventions not only uphold children’s right to education but also contribute to protection outcomes by providing access to lifesaving services through schools and learning spaces (school feeding, nutrition, health, mental health and psychosocial services). The classroom is also an important space to convey life-saving messages, support learning of foundational skills (literacy, numeracy, and social emotional learning), raise awareness and promote behavioural changes.
Moreover, classroom and learning settings offer a space to identify protection needs and mitigate risks.
According to the 2024 Nigeria Humanitarian Needs Overview, access to education for school-aged girls and boys has been impacted by a range of complex challenges, including poor and unsafe school infrastructure, poor/no WASH facilities, insecurity, attacks on educational facilities, a shortage of teachers, lack of premises adapted for children with disabilities and other protection concerns. These challenges have varying effects on different population subsets. Girls are likely to face the risk of early marriage, while boys may be forcedly recruited by armed groups. The Education Sector, as identified in the same overview, has highlighted that 1.5 million school-aged children are in need of essential education services/ assistance.
This Joint Education Needs Assessment (JENA) was conducted by the Education in Emergencies Working Group (EiEWG) and its partners in Northeast Nigeria, with backing from the Global Education Cluster. Partners of the EiEWG Nigeria played a pivotal role in data collection for this assessment.
Additionally, the development of this report received support from both the Global Education Cluster and the REACH initiative. The primary objectives of this assessment were to enable:
(i) the prioritization of geographical areas for intervention and
(ii) the production of recommendations for informed operational strategies and decisions.
(iii) Collate field evidence on the current context of education in North-East Nigeria