The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has said Nigeria’s number of out-of-school children is significantly lower than the 15–18 million figure often cited by the UNICEF, insisting that ongoing government data mapping places the total at below 8 million.

Alausa made this known on Tuesday during an interview on Politics Today on Channels Television, where he explained that the Federal Government is currently conducting a nationwide verification exercise to determine the actual number of out-of-school children across the country.

According to him, more than one million children have already been reintegrated into schools within the past 30 months through various government interventions aimed at improving access to education.

He said the exercise involves physically identifying and tracking children at community level to ensure accurate enrolment data, noting that the government is now prioritising field-verified figures over earlier statistical projections.

Using Kaduna State as an example, Alausa stated that previous estimates put the number of out-of-school children at about 1.8 million, but ongoing verification suggests a much lower figure.

“Today, we’ve mapped every single out-of-school child in Kaduna. UNICEF data said Kaduna has 1.8 million. When we completed this data mapping in Kaduna, we found only 700,000,” he said.

He added that similar results have been observed in other states, including Akwa Ibom.

Alausa maintained that the national estimate now stands below 8 million, while acknowledging that the issue remains a serious challenge requiring sustained intervention.

“We’ve moved over one million children off the streets and back to school within the last 30 months,” he said.

He noted that while international organisations may rely on different methodologies, the government is focusing on data collected directly from communities.

“UNICEF can quote its data. Some people say 15 million or 18 million, but what I’m telling you is that we are carrying out data mapping of the actual out-of-school children,” he added.

The minister also disclosed that the government is introducing new measures, including partnerships with private schools to absorb affected children under a per-capita funding arrangement.

“We have now finalised agreements with private schools to take in these children. We’re paying them per child to take them in. It will start this year,” he said.

Despite the revised estimates, Alausa stressed that reducing the number of out-of-school children remains a top priority for the country’s education sector.