The Lumina Programme is a new education initiative unveiled by the Nigerian Federal Government to address the country's significant out-of-school children crisis, which affects over 10 million children. The programme will provide foundational literacy and numeracy education, especially targeting girls in hard-to-reach and underserved communities.
This programme was announced by Education's Minister Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, represented by Prof. Ali Idris, Senior Special Assistant to the Minister--during the Adolescent and Youth Ministerial Dialogue on Wellbeing, Health, and Development held in Abuja on Tuesday.
The Lumina Programme is one of the government’s steps, under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, to close gaps in education and help more vulnerable children across the country get access to basic education and schooling.
Suwaiba emphasized that there are over 10 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, and to reduce this number, Lumina programme was launched. She mentioned that online registration for the programme has already started, and the full rollout is set to begin in the next two months.
Background on Nigeria’s Out-of-School Children Crisis
Nigeria has one of the highest rates of out-of-school children globally, with estimates ranging from 10.2 to 20 million children. Many reputable sources have confirmed this range in their best way:
- UNICEF reports indicate approximately 10.5 million children aged 5–14 are not in school, with 10.2 million of primary school age and 8.1 million of junior secondary school age.
- Education Cannot Wait (ECW) estimated that there are over 17.8 million out-of-school children in Nigeria. This number is in addition with the 8.9 million crisis-affected children in the country.
- World Bank also raised concerns, noting that Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children globally, with over 11 million children between the age of 6 and 15.
The World Bank said that tackling this issue will need a range of solutions and approaches. The bank suggests removing/slashing school fees, providing cash support to families, changing social and cultural attitudes, building more schools to widen access, and strengthening how education is managed and funded.
Furthermore, Population Media Center (PMC) references 20 million out-of-school children. They say systemic issues like poverty, gender disparities, and insecurity are the major causes of it. They say crisis is particularly acute in northern Nigeria, driven by:
- Conflict and insecurity: The Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast (Borno, Adamawa, Yobe states) has led to school closures, abductions, and displacement.
- Poverty: Economic barriers prevent underprivileged families from affording their children school fees and related costs.
- Gender disparities: Over 60% of out-of-school children are girls, with cultural norms, child marriage, and lack of sanitation facilities in schools contributing.
- Climate-related disruptions: Flooding has displaced millions and damaged schools, with 3 million children out of school in Borno alone due to recent floods.
"To address this, we’ve introduced the Lumina programme, targeting hard-to-reach areas, especially girls. The programme aims to provide literacy and numeracy education," The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad cited.
Launch and Objectives of the Lumina Programme
The Lumina Programme was launched as part of government's efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children, with a focus on literacy and numeracy education, particularly for girls in hard-to-reach areas. The programme was referenced in April 2025 with online registration, and a planned to begin within the next two months.
It prioritizes hard-to-reach and marginalized communities, especially in northern Nigeria, where the Almajiri system and other socio-cultural factors contribute to high out-of-school rates. It worth noting that the government has disclosed that it's developing a national policy aimed at integrating Quranic and modern education to tackle the Almajiri street-begging crisis. The national policy will also provide additional support like shelter and food.
A bill is currently being prepared for submission to the National Assembly to give this initiative legal support. The new strategy takes a bottom-up approach, working with local communities and state governments to help make it sustainable in the long run. The proposed policy includes infrastructure development, teacher incentives, legal safeguards, and mechanisms to hold parents accountable.
Furthermore, the programme will also focuses on including the construction of 7,200 new schools, the renovation of 195,000 classrooms, the training of one million teachers, and the distribution of 103 million textbooks and two million teaching aids.
Funding Context: The programme, according to the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, has gained support from the National Security Adviser, state governors, and legislators. The programme is also part of a broader N120 billion initiative for youth skills acquisition, indicating a multi-faceted approach to education and empowerment.
Relation to Other Federal Initiatives and Challenges
The Lumina Programme aligns with other government initiative efforts to education under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), which was launched to transform the education landscape in the country. Related initiated programmes include:
- Luminah Girl Child Initiative: The LGCI was launched on March 19, 2025 as a separate but complementary program to boost girl-child education in Nigeria. The programme is aimed at closing the educational gaps and equipping girls with skills needed for a dynamic world.
- Broader Quality Education and Learning Outcomes Programme: This programme was launched alongside the Luminah Girl Child Initiative to focuse on improving educational quality and outcomes in Nigeria.
- National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP): This programme was incepted to increase school enrollment by providing free meals to over 10 million pupils. It worth noting that this programme indirectly supports the Lumina Programme’s goals by addressing nutritional barriers to education.
- Accelerated Basic Education Programme (ABEP): The ABEP was launched in 2022 with Plan International to targets out-of-school children with flexible, and age-appropriate education. The programme mainstreams out-of-school children into formal schooling or vocational training, depending on a child's want.
Meanwhile, it's important to note that challenges facing similar education programme may impact the Lumina Programme as well. Notably, only 13% of the education response in Nigeria’s Humanitarian Response Plan (NHRP) was funded before recent ECW investments. This gives reason for resource constraints.
NHGSFP faced issues with vendor payments and food price hikes. This suggests the need for robust financial planning for Lumina programme to scale through this type challenge.
Furthermore, gaps between policy and practice, as seen in the Minimum Standards for Safe Schools (only 9 of 21 standards met), can also hinder the progress. Other challenges like infrastructure deficits and insecurity can also affect the Lumina programme. Between 2022 and 2023, there were 19 attacks on 113 schools in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe that led to their closures. This also pose ongoing risks to Lumina programme.
With all these challenges, Lumina educational programme is still a promising step to basic education for underprivileged children in Nigeria. Meanwhile, its success depends on addressing systemic issues. For instance, integrating education with protection, nutrition, and livelihoods (as seen in ECW’s model) is critical to retaining children in school.
The Final Note
The Lumina Programme (LP) represents a targeted effort of the Nigeria Federal Government to fight the over 10 million out-of-school children crisis. The government aims to tackle this crisis by focusing on literacy, numeracy, and girls’ education in marginalized areas.
The programme was launched within a broader framework of educational reforms; it's built on existing initiatives like NHGSFP and ABEP but may face challenges related to funding, insecurity, and infrastructure faced by other related education initiatives.