By Ioryar Louis Tarvershima
They wake each morning not to the sound of a school bell, but to blaring horns, hurried footsteps, and the daily pressure to survive. While millions of Nigerian children prepare for classrooms, thousands head to traffic junctions, markets, and motor parks with empty hands and uncertain futures. They are visible on the streets, yet absent from schools. These are Nigeria’s invisible learners.
Nigeria is home to one of the largest populations of out-of-school children in the world. Among them are street children—boys and girls who hawk sachet water, beg for alms, wash windscreens, or sleep under bridges. Although education is guaranteed by law, it remains a distant promise for many of them. Survival takes priority. Hunger does not wait for lessons, and poverty does not pause for school hours.
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For most street children, exclusion from education is not a personal failure but a systemic one. Extreme poverty forces families to rely on children as sources of income. Insecurity, displacement, and family breakdown push others onto the streets. Even when a child longs to learn, obstacles quickly emerge: hidden school costs, lack of uniforms and learning materials, and bureaucratic requirements such as birth certificates and proof of residence. These barriers quietly but effectively shut street children out of the education system.
Stigma further worsens their situation. Street children are often viewed as threats rather than victims—branded as stubborn, dirty, or dangerous. Schools that should offer protection and opportunity sometimes reject them outright or tolerate discrimination within their walls. For children already grappling with rejection, such experiences reinforce the belief that education is not meant for them.
The consequences of neglecting these children are severe. An uneducated child today is more likely to become an unemployed and marginalized adult tomorrow. When large numbers of children grow up without education, society pays the price through rising crime, entrenched poverty, and weakened national development. Every child left on the streets represents lost talent and broken potential Nigeria cannot afford to waste.
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Yet hope remains. Across the country, non-governmental organizations, faith-based groups, and community volunteers are demonstrating that street children can learn when education is flexible and inclusive. Mobile schools, informal learning centers, and skills-based programs are helping some children transition from the streets into structured learning. While impactful, these initiatives remain limited without strong government backing and policy integration.
The media also has a vital role to play. By telling the stories of street children with accuracy and compassion, journalists can challenge harmful stereotypes, influence public opinion, and push education back to the forefront of national priorities. Visibility matters. A child who is seen is more likely to be protected.
Street children are not hopeless, lazy, or unreachable. They are children whose right to education has been delayed, denied, and forgotten. Education should not depend on background, location, or daily struggle. It is not a privilege for the fortunate; it is a right for all.
Until street children are brought into classrooms and given a genuine chance to learn, Nigeria’s promise of education for every child remains unfulfilled. Making invisible learners visible is not charity—it is justice. And the nation’s future depends on whether these children remain on the streets or find their place in schools where they truly belong.
Three Headline Options
Invisible Learners: How Street Children Are Locked Out of Education in Nigeria
Seen on the Streets, Absent from Schools: The Crisis of Nigeria’s Street Children
A Forgotten Right: Street Children and Nigeria’s Unfulfilled Promise of Education