The Federal Government on Tuesday unveiled two major literacy and empowerment initiatives aimed at reducing Nigeria’s out-of-school population and tackling gender inequality in education.

The interventions, launched in Abuja, target the enrollment of 500,000 learners in non-formal education programmes and the education and empowerment of one million underserved girls nationwide.

Speaking at the headquarters of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Formal Education (NMEC), the Acting Executive Secretary, Dr. John Onimisi, said the commission had begun training enumerators on automated data tools to identify youths who dropped out or never had access to formal education.

“The programme, which will run in phases across all 774 LGAs, is designed to return over 500,000 learners in its first phase and equip them with both literacy and vocational training,” Onimisi said.

He disclosed that 376 enumerators had been trained across the 36 states and the FCT, while 250 facilitators would coordinate the exercise in Abuja. Progress will be tracked in real time through a dashboard linked to the National Identity Management System, he added.

UBEC Takes Over LUMINAH 2030 Initiative

In a related development, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) announced it had formally taken over the LUMINAH 2030 Initiative, launched in 2025 with World Bank support.

UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Aisha Garba, represented by Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Razaq Akinyemi, said the project seeks to educate and economically empower one million underserved girls by 2030.

“Lumina illuminates the path to education and empowerment. It integrates schooling, skills training, caregiver support, and community engagement to address the root causes keeping our girls out of school,” she said.

The initiative will be implemented in 12 states, including Yobe, Taraba, Kano, Jigawa, Ebonyi, Anambra, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom, providing safe learning centres, vocational skills, and financial support for caregivers.

Global Concern

UNICEF estimates that Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children in the world, with over 18 million excluded from primary and secondary education, particularly in the North-East and North-West.

Stakeholders, including the Neem Foundation, welcomed the programmes, describing them as transformative efforts toward closing Nigeria’s literacy gap and addressing poverty and gender inequality.