Policy Brief 2026-06-02
Abstract
Audience
This Policy Brief is intended for Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education, the Universal Basic Education
Commission, the Adamawa State Ministry of Education and State Universal Basic Education Board,
and other stakeholders concerned with the implementation of universal basic education in areas
affected by conflict and protracted crisis in Nigeria.
Executive summary
Nigeria’s Universal Basic Education Act, 2004 (UBE Act) states that basic education should be free,
compulsory and universal. (UBE Act, 2004). However, its implementation in Adamawa State has been
significantly disrupted by the Boko Haram insurgency, which has caused mass internal displacement.
The return and resettlement of previously displaced communities provide opportunities to implement
the Act fully, and in doing so to improve access to and the quality and continuity of education in the
State.
The Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crisis (ERICC) programme considers existing
factors influencing educational provision at policy and local levels in areas affected by conflict and
crisis. The programme aims to guide interventions that will improve policy-practice coherence, which
will lead to greater access to and improved quality and continuity of education in these contexts.
Nigeria is one of six countries involved in the research programme. The focus here is on the factors
that enable or hinder the implementation of the UBE Act in Adamawa State.
There has been very limited research to date on the provision of basic education in this context of
return and resettlement, which limits the opportunities for policy-makers and others to make
evidence-informed decisions on basic education. ERICC seeks to fill this research and knowledge gap.
This policy brief summarises the findings, implications and recommendations of research conducted
in Madagali Local Government Area (LGA) in northern Adamawa State. A comprehensive evidence
review was conducted to identify evidence gaps (Mishra et al., 2023), complemented by extensive
consultations with federal and local stakeholders in Nigeria (Akogun et al., 2023) to understand the
educational context in Adamawa and draw out recommendations. Further research will inform the
design of interventions to improve the provision of basic education in the State.
A. Methodology
The research comprised systematic and ongoing literature reviews and a mixed-methods approach.
Quantitative research carried out in Madagali LGA included: (i) a household survey (HHS) involving 107
households and 517 school-aged children; and (ii) community and learning facility checklists.
Qualitative research included: (iii) 14 key informant interviews (KIIs) conducted with federal, state and
local government officers, and with representatives from development and implementing partners;
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(iv) 22 KIIs with community leaders and school and learning centre representatives in Madagali LGA;
and (v) focus group discussions with 80 children and 82 parents.
B. Key findings
Communities have returned to and resettled in Adamawa State, but the threat of violence continues to
impact education. The HHS revealed that the conflict has disrupted the education of over half of
school-aged children and that fears of renewed violence persist.