*Half of Nigeria’s Private Schools Are Invisible — FG

By Elizabeth Osayande & Marvelous Allen

LAGOS — The Federal Government has revealed that out of 110,000 private schools in Nigeria, only 57,000 have submitted their data to the national education database, making over half of private schools in the country invisible for planning and intervention — a gap stakeholders at the African Affordable Non-State Education Summit say can only be closed through data, collaboration and shared responsibility.

The summit, themed No School Left Out: Rise for Affordable Non-State Schools, organised by SEED Care and Support Foundation in Lagos, brought together over 630 delegates from 15 African countries to chart a sustainable future for schools serving low-income families.

Data Is The Foundation For Sustainability

The Director, Educational Planning, Research and Development, Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs Obianuju Anigbogu, disclosed the data gap during a panel discussion.

“If you look at the discussion we are having, I can see they are centralising on a state. But I want to provide some federal-level information. The federal government does not own the schools. Right now, we have a total of 112,000 public schools and 110,000 private schools,” she said.

“Many states are not building schools. So that is why private schools are increasing. But the problem is, where are these schools? Are they counted? Out of the 110,000 private schools, only 57,000 are captured on that platform. If you don’t know who these people are, there is no way you can intervene. What is the purpose of data? For intervention, for accountability, for decision-making, and for planning.”

Anigbogu said sustainability begins with visibility. Without data, she argued, the government can not plan, fund, train teachers, or protect schools.

She announced a free Federal Government teacher upskilling programme worth N200,000 per teacher and warned that by 2027, schools without 75 per cent TRCN-licensed teachers will be barred from registering students for WASSCE and NECO.

Organiser: Sustainability Requires Justice, Not Charity

Setting the tone for the summit, the Executive Director of SEED Care and Support Foundation and convener, Mrs Olanrewaju Oniyitan, said the theme was chosen to correct a long-standing injustice in Africa’s education narrative.

“Ten years ago, I was taken around my own country through a UK Aid-funded project to observe learning in school communities not far from where I lived. I saw children from low-income families arriving with excitement and eagerness to learn. I saw teachers who, despite modest pay, dedicated their lives to educating these children. That experience changed me,” she said.

Mrs Oniyitan said for too long, affordable non-state schools that educate over 70 per cent of children in low-income communities have been treated as second-class, unrecognised, and unsupported, yet over-regulated and over-taxed.

“This summit is not just an event. It is the beginning of a movement. When we say ‘No School Left Out,’ we are not using a slogan. We are making a demand for justice. We are saying that no child should be left out because of where they were born, and no school that serves that child should be left out because of who owns it,” she said.

“We are not asking governments to abandon their responsibilities. We are asking them to fulfil those responsibilities more intelligently, more inclusively and more democratically. We are not asking anyone to lower standards. What we are asking for is recognition, inclusion, support, and engagement.”

She explained that RISE stands for Recognition, Inclusion, Support, and Engagement — the four pillars the summit is demanding for affordable non-state schools across Africa.

“If we are serious about achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4, we can not achieve Education for All while ignoring the schools where the majority of our children are actually learning. The future of education in Africa is not public versus private. It is public with private, working together for the child.”

Keynote: Collaboration, Not Silos, Will Sustain The Sector

Delivering the keynote address, Policy, Advocacy and Engagement Manager of IDP Foundation, Inc., Mrs Constance Kwaa Ababio, said the Foundation has, for over 17 years, championed affordable non-state education as a critical pillar for achieving Education for All.

“At the end of the day, it is the learner that is at the centre. We want to ensure that children are in school, they are safe, they are thriving, and they are learning,” she said.

Mrs Ababio said that despite educating over 70 per cent of children in low-income communities across Africa, affordable non-state schools remain unrecognised, under-supported, and over-taxed.

She called for a continental umbrella body that will give Africa one strong, unified voice to engage the African Union, the United Nations, and other global education stakeholders.

“We can not continue to work in silos. Ghana is doing its thing, Nigeria is doing its thing, Kenya is doing its thing. We need one African voice for affordable non-state schools. That is how we will influence policy at the AU and UN level,” she said.

She commended SEED Care and Support Foundation for convening the summit, describing it as timely and historic for bringing over 630 delegates from 15 African countries together.

Lagos: Collaboration Is Working

Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Lagos State, Hon. Jamiu Tolani Alli-Balogun said Lagos remains a model because education is on the concurrent list, and because the state treats non-state schools as partners, not competitors.

“Education is on the concurrent legislative list. It is not exclusive to the federal government. Lagos has showcased in many instances how to improve and leverage education governance. About three states went to the Federal Ministry of Education, and they were told to come to Lagos to learn about quality assurance. That shows we are always proactive,” he said.

“Public schools alone cannot address the full spectrum of educational needs of our growing population. Affordable non-state schools have become important partners. We must move beyond seeing public and non-state schools as separate or competing systems. We must recognise them as complementary components.”

OEQA: Data + Support = Sustainability

The Director-General of the Lagos State Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Dr Sulaimon Olagoke Ogunmuyiwa, said Lagos has proved that data and collaboration can transform sustainability.

According to him, the state is making sure that no child is left behind by bridging the gap via data verification and improved teacher training.

“We changed the name from ‘unapproved’ to ‘yet-to-be-approved’ and introduced free online registration. Since 2025, yet-to-be-approved schools in our database are over 10,000. We now have about 6,200 approved schools. So from 500, we now have over 16,000. And we still have about 10,000 more not yet captured,” Dr Ogunmuyiwa announced.

He unveiled plans to sustain non-state schools through:

Data verification to capture every school for planning and intervention
Internal Quality Assurance Officers in every school to raise standards from within
OEQA Super Hub with tablets for evaluators for real-time support
Verification codes to protect schools from impersonators and multiple collectors
Evaluation Lab for neurodiversity conditions like dyslexia to ensure inclusive learning
Improved teacher training in partnership with associations

“Our goal is not to close schools, but to help schools meet standards and survive. When government, associations, and funders share data and work together, non-state schools become sustainable,” he said.

Multiple Taxation Still Threatens Sustainability

For the Chairman, Association for Formidable Education Development, Hon. Orji Kanu Emmanuel, the promise made by the Lagos State government to recommend a single payment by private schools would be greatly appreciated, as he said multiple taxation remains the biggest threat to affordable schools in Lagos

He said collaboration must also extend to taxation, noting that a single, transparent payment system would free resources for teacher salaries, learning materials, and infrastructure.

Collaboration In Action: Makoko School

One of the highlights was the story of the founder of Mipamawu Children’s Development Foundation, January Wheduto, a school in Makoko providing free-tuition education for over 600 pupils.

The offices of OEQA and the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency, LASRRA, responded immediately, promising to visit the school and capture pupils — a practical example of how data and collaboration can bring an invisible school into the system.

The summit ended with a resolution to build a collective African voice for affordable non-state schools ahead of the next summit in 2028 — with data sharing, joint advocacy and cross-country collaboration as the pillars for sustainability.