One year after the launch of Nigeria’s National Policy on Non-State Schools (NPNSN), education stakeholders have called for urgent state-level action.
They warn that without immediate domestication, the policy’s commitments to improving support for schools, teachers, and millions of children will fail to strengthen the sector.
The call was made on Tuesday in Lagos during a press conference organised by the Coalition of Non-State School Associations and the SEED Care and Support Foundation.
The hybrid event featured the launch of the NPNSN Tracker. This evidence-based tool monitors progress, identifies implementation gaps, and promotes accountability among stakeholders.
Private school leaders present emphasised that state governors hold the key to transforming this national framework into practical local pathways.
While stakeholders praised the federal government for creating the policy a year ago, they expressed disappointment at the total lack of progress at the state level.
Speaking at the launch, Mrs Olanrewaju Oniyitan, Executive Director of the SEED Care and Support Foundation, revealed that the tracker provides the first structured snapshot of state-level domestication efforts.
The assessment, based on public records and stakeholder inputs, revealed that none of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory has fully domesticated or implemented the policy.
According to Oniyitan, the data shows a stark divide in state responses:
On progressing to final steps, only six states-Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kano, Kaduna, and Jigawa-are currently reviewing draft frameworks on the policy. They only lack formal legislative approval and public publication, and until this is done, the policy remains paperwork.
Osun and Ekiti, on their part, are drafting instruments, while Rivers State relies on an existing, alignable regulatory framework.
The remaining 27 states show absolutely no evidence of domestication activities.
Oniyitan noted that the policy addresses the core challenges private operators face, including multiple taxation, inaccurate enrollment data, poor teacher training, and lack of funding or technical support. ‘The best time for state governments to act is now,’ she said. ‘As more that 65 per cent of the entire school children nationwide are attending the non-state schools leaving the rest for the public schools.
Association leaders echoed her urgency.
Coalition Secretary General Orji Kanu, LEAMSP National President Abdulwahid Obalakun, GUAPS President General AbdulAzeez Ajibola, and Model Islamic Schools National Treasurer Misbaudeen Zakariyah Akinola all expressed shock at the stagnation.
They noted that implementation would drive both educational and economic development by cementing private schools as true partners with the government.
The coalition urged the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) not to remain silent. They advised the FME to set up an internal monitoring and evaluation unit, deliver technical support to struggling states, and pitch the policy directly to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
‘As it stands, no state can provide an accurate count of its non-state schools, let alone pupils,’ the coalition observed. ‘And without data, effective planning for these children and staff is impossible. Every state governor must demonstrate the political will to make this policy work.’