By Abubakar M. Kareto
Nigeria’s 2026 Education Quality Index places the North East fifth out of six geopolitical zones with a composite score of 35.93, sitting just above the North West. To outside observers, this ranking might appear as another routine statistic reflecting regional underdevelopment. Yet for those who have lived through the region’s most turbulent decade, an uncomfortable truth emerges: staying off the very bottom represents an undeniable feat of human endurance.
Over a decade of violent conflict decimated critical infrastructure, destroyed thousands of schools, claimed the lives of educators, and displaced millions, creating a learning deficit of historic proportions. Any society subjected to that level of sustained devastation would have experienced total institutional collapse. The fact that the North East continues to teach, build, and function is a powerful testament to the resilience of its people.
Yet resilience is not a policy destination, and surviving catastrophe cannot justify complacency. Ranking second from the bottom is a development emergency, not a badge of honour. While the South West leads the index with a score of 53.57, our zone hovers at 35.93. That wide disparity cannot remain an abstract figure; it represents an entire generation of young minds at risk of economic marginalisation.
The institutional scars of conflict remain evident in classrooms across the region. In Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe alone, approximately two million children remain outside the formal education system. Equally concerning is the reality confronting those who do attend: an estimated 72 per cent of children completing primary school struggle to read a simple text. Only 58 per cent successfully transition to secondary school, and a mere 29 per cent of instructional staff meet minimum statutory qualification standards.
The direct result is severe classroom congestion. The North East records an average pupil-to-teacher ratio of 1:58 against the national benchmark of 1:35, with specific rural districts in Yobe experiencing ratios as steep as 1:104. Compounding these structural gaps is an adult female literacy rate of 38.3 per cent, contrasted with 59.6 per cent for males. These indicators point to a fundamental policy reality: expanding school enrolment must not be conflated with genuine learning. Newly built classrooms without qualified, motivated instructors merely shelter functional illiteracy.
Commendable headway has been made, and these efforts deserve fair recognition. In Borno State, student enrolment rose from under 500,000 learners at the peak of the crisis to over 1.8 million by 2026. Functional senior secondary schools increased from 34 across eight local government areas in 2019 to 129 spread across 25 LGAs today. Supported by nearly ₦47 billion committed across the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years, thousands of damaged classrooms were rebuilt and fresh teaching personnel recruited. Region-wide interventions, such as the Education for Every Child Today initiative, have returned over 48,000 children to learning environments, renovated 126 facilities, and upskilled hundreds of teachers.
These achievements confirm that well-directed interventions yield measurable results. However, they remain isolated successes within a broader sea of urgent need.
The core vulnerability remains financial commitment and systemic execution. The six states of the North East collectively committed ₦546 billion to education in their 2026 budgets, yet none met the internationally recommended 26 per cent budgetary allocation. Without meeting foundational funding standards, states cannot adequately maintain teacher welfare, modernise teaching tools, or dismantle the barriers keeping vulnerable children outside formal systems.
To shift definitively from crisis management to sustainable quality, the North East Governors’ Forum and sub-national leadership must rally around five practical priorities:
First, state governments must steadily raise education funding toward 20 to 25 per cent of their annual budgets while instituting strict, transparent procurement mechanisms to ensure resources reach actual classrooms.
Second, raising the bar for teaching professionals must become an institutional imperative. States must institute merit-driven recruitment, continuous capacity development, and rural deployment incentives to attract and keep top talent in the classroom.
Third, formal integration of the Tsangaya and Almajiri systems must be pursued with deliberate institutional focus. Embedding foundational literacy, numeracy, and basic digital skills into traditional Islamic learning centres honours cultural values while equipping youth with modern economic competencies.
Fourth, curricula must intentionally bridge schooling and practical livelihoods. Integrating modern agricultural techniques, livestock value chains, and vocational trades into post-primary schools creates tangible value, encouraging vulnerable families to keep children in class.
Fifth, states must align initiatives with the North East Development Commission (NEDC), federal agencies, and international development partners to eliminate overlapping programs and fund long-term secondary school transition scholarships.
Above all, community engagement will decide the sustainability of these reforms. Traditional institutions, religious leaders, and parents must remain actively engaged champions of education, driving local accountability against student absenteeism, premature dropouts, and structural barriers to educating girls.
The North East has survived the heaviest storms of displacement and conflict. Being second from the bottom proves that the region withstood total disruption, but endurance cannot become our ceiling. Through disciplined financing, clear political direction, and collective resolve, the North East can dismantle learning poverty and secure the prosperous future its children rightfully deserve.
Abubakar M. Kareto is a Public Affairs Analyst and Communications Strategist focusing on governance, policies, economy, and institutional reforms across Nigeria and Africa. He can be reached on X @amkareto and via email at amkareto@gmail.com.
