Oyo struggles with learning setback as more than 670,000 youngsters are deprived of education

Education stakeholders in Oyo State have sounded the alarm on a worsening basic education crisis, with hundreds of thousands of children still out of school despite recent government initiatives and funding commitments, according to Adeola Badru in Ibadan.

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Speaking at a stakeholders' engagement, Programme Director of Educare Trust, Folorunsho Moshood, described the situation in Oyo State as a "troubling paradox of progress and persistent systemic failure", where the state has made progress in expanding access to basic education and modernising classrooms, but still faces a learning crisis and high exclusion rates.

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According to Moshood, Oyo State requires urgent, coordinated national and sub-national responses to address these challenges, which are exacerbated by poverty, distance, hidden costs, and lack of interest.

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Data from the 2022/2023 Annual School Census reveals that Oyo State has one of the largest student populations in south-west Nigeria, with over two million pupils in public primary schools alone, second only to Lagos.

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However, the state records the highest number of out-of-school children in the region, with approximately 674,324 children aged 3 to 17, or about 20.1 per cent, excluded from education, which Moshood described as "a national emergency".

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Moshood cited structural drivers such as poverty, distance, hidden costs, and lack of interest, which require stronger policy enforcement and social protection measures to address the crisis.

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While the government recently announced that 60,000 children had been returned to classrooms, stakeholders stressed that this figure represents only a fraction of those still excluded from education.

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On infrastructure, Moshood noted that many public schools lack usable classrooms, toilets, WASH facilities, functional libraries, and sporting amenities, which hinder effective teaching and learning.

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Moshood emphasized that the environment must be conducive for learning to thrive, which is a fundamental issue of quality, not just access.

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Stakeholders also raised concerns about uneven teacher distribution, particularly in rural areas, and gaps in special education, with qualified teachers often reluctant to accept postings to underserved communities.

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Despite government efforts, including the payment of over N3.5 billion in counterpart funding to access Universal Basic Education Commission grants, stakeholders insisted that funding must translate into measurable outcomes.

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Concerns were also raised over the stalled implementation of the national intervention targeting out-of-school children, with Oyo State capturing only 7,768 children, just 29 per cent of the 27,000 target, under a 2025 initiative by the National Commission on Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education.

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Moshood warned that delays in the programme risk eroding public confidence and undermining future interventions, and stakeholders called for stronger accountability mechanisms and improved student welfare systems.

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The stakeholders concluded that ensuring every child has access to quality education is fundamental to Nigeria's future, and that anything less risks deepening inequality and weakening the nation's human capital development.