The Federal Government of Nigeria has signed a $62.8 million agreement with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) to fund the Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROOSC) project in Kaduna State.
The Memorandum of Understanding, described as “historic” by officials, marks the Kuwait Fund’s first intervention in Nigeria.
The Honourable Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, signed on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Finance, while KFAED’s Director General, H.E. Dr. Waleed Al-Bahar, represented the Kuwaiti side.
The project aims to tackle Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis, estimated at over 18 million nationwide.
“This initiative provides a timely, community-driven response aligned with SDG 4,” said Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani in a statement.
The ROOSC project, developed with local and international partners, seeks to “eliminate barriers to education and reintegrate marginalised children into the formal system.”
Kaduna State has met its full counterpart funding obligation for the project, which will deliver 102 climate-resilient schools and rehabilitate 170 learning centres across all 23 local government areas.
Special focus will be given to “school safety, inclusive learning environments, and the reintegration of girls, children with disabilities, and internally displaced children.”
The governor highlighted his administration’s education investments since 2023, including allocating 25% of the state’s 2024 budget to education, constructing 60 new secondary schools, and reducing tuition in state-owned tertiary institutions by 50%.
“We have built 700 classrooms and renovated over 1,049 classrooms,” he noted, adding that three modern vocational institutes were established to align with federal technical education priorities.
International partners supporting the initiative include the Islamic Development Bank, Global Partnership for Education, Education Above All Foundation, Save the Children International, and UNICEF.
Governor Sani expressed gratitude to these organisations and federal ministers for their support, reaffirming Kaduna’s commitment to “transparent, accountable implementation” of the project.
With Nigeria accounting for about 20% of the world’s out-of-school children, education experts view the Kuwait Fund’s entry as a significant development.
The ROOSC project’s community-based approach could serve as a model for other states grappling with similar challenges, officials suggest.
The governor concluded: “Kaduna remains fully committed to ensuring quality education for every child.”
As implementation begins, monitoring groups have pledged to track the project’s impact on school enrolment and retention rates in one of Nigeria’s educationally disadvantaged regions.
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