{
  "id": 18280807,
  "title": "UBEC partners traditional rulers to tackle out-of-school crisis",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/ubec-partners-traditional-rulers-to-tackle-out-of-school-crisis",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-05T09:24:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/ubec-partners-traditional-rulers-to-tackle-out-of-school-crisis/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has partnered with traditional rulers and religious leaders to combat the crisis of out-of-school children in Nigeria. The aim is to leverage the influence of these community leaders to identify children not attending school and facilitate their enrolment across the country. Additionally, UBEC plans to implement community-level monitoring of pupils' attendance, retention, and completion to ensure their continued education. This collaboration was announced following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between UBEC and the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development. Traditional and religious institutions will work to strengthen community participation in basic education, particularly in underserved communities where poverty, cultural barriers, and other social challenges limit children's access to schooling. The partners will establish coordinating committees at national, state, and local levels to drive education advocacy and grassroots mobilisation. Traditional and religious leaders will also be expected to encourage parents and guardians to prioritise their children's education. The initiative will distribute advocacy materials in Hausa, Fulfulde, and Yoruba and identify out-of-school children through household-level identification and enrolment in nearby schools. The Executive Secretary of UBEC, Aisha Garba, emphasised the importance of involving community leaders due to their influence in shaping community values, guiding family decisions, and mobilising grassroots support. The partnership aims to address the geographical concentration of the challenge, particularly in regions affected by insecurity, poverty, displacement, and inadequate access to functional schools. Progress will be measured by increased school enrolment, improved attendance and retention, stronger learning outcomes, and a sustained reduction in the number of out-of-school children.",
  "summary": "The Universal Basic Education Commission has partnered with traditional and religious leaders to tackle Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis. Read More: https://punchng.com/ubec-partners-traditional-rulers-to-tackle-out-of-school-crisis/",
  "key_points": [
    "UBEC partners with traditional rulers to address out-of-school children crisis in Nigeria.",
    "Collaboration aims to leverage community leaders' influence for school enrollment.",
    "Partnership includes establishing coordinating committees for education advocacy."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Leveraging the social influence of community leaders shifts the responsibility of educational enrollment and monitoring from central authorities to the grassroots level to overcome deep-seated cultural and social barriers.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}