In classrooms across Nigeria’s Southwest region, millions of children attend schools that exist in a regulatory grey zone, neither fully recognized nor adequately supported by government systems. Non-state schools, ranging from elite international academies to low-fee community schools in informal settlements now educate nearly one-third of Nigerian children. Data shows between 2017 and 2022, the sector expanded rapidly, growing by 31% at primary level and 35% at junior secondary, compared to government school growth rates of just 3.3% and 6.8%. Yet despite this scale and momentum, non-state schools are historically excluded from structured government support or long-term education planning. This reality is changing through the National Policy on Non-State School facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Education with the support of the UK’s FCDO/PLANE programme, with DAWN Commission advocating and supporting the domestication of the Policy across the Southwest states.
The approval and launching of the National Policy on Non-State Schools in Nigeria (NPNSN) by the National Council on Education and the Federal Ministry of Education signaled Nigeria’s decisive step toward redefining how millions of its children access education in 2024. It marked the country’s first comprehensive attempt to regulate, support, and integrate schools operating outside the public system. Far from being a marginal reform, the policy addresses an education reality that has long outpaced regulation. The NPNSN fundamentally shifts this paradigm. It recognizes non-state schools not merely as private enterprises to be policed, but as essential partners in achieving universal basic education. The policy establishes a dual responsibility for government: firm regulatory oversight alongside deliberate enabling support. This reframing acknowledges a simple truth Nigeria’s education goals cannot be met without engaging all providers educating Nigerian children.
At its core, the policy envisions “a well-regulated non-state school system providing standardized education services that complement government efforts.” Its mission emphasizes collaboration across public institutions, private school coalitions, civil society, development partners, and other stakeholders to expand inclusive and equitable access to education.
A key strength of the NPNSN is its recognition of diversity within the non-state sector. It formally categorizes schools into six broad types; faith-based and religious schools (including Islamiyya, Tsangaya, and denominational institutions), private schools, homeschooling arrangements, tutorial and adult learning centres, voluntary or charity schools, and community schools. Crucially, it further classifies schools by fee structure; high-fee, medium-fee, and low-fee – a distinction with significant implications for policy implementation and equity.
The policy’s most transformative provisions are those targeted at low-fee schools, which disproportionately serve children from low-income households in urban settlements and rural communities. These schools are often dismissed as “mushroom schools” by the people. Meanwhile, these institutions are filling access gaps where public provision has fallen short. Thus, rather than criminalizing their existence, the NPNSN creates pathways for inclusion and improvement.
One of the most consequential reforms concerns are registration and approval. The policy mandates transparent, accessible registration processes, published timelines, and complaint mechanisms to address administrative delays. Most notably, it grants amnesty to unregistered schools established prior to the policy, allowing them time and support to comply rather than face closure. This single provision brings thousands of informal schools and the children they serve into the formal education system.
The policy also directly confronts the financial fragility of low-fee schools. It commits government to facilitating access to finance through public-private partnerships, low-interest loans, grants, and tax incentives, particularly for schools serving low-income communities. Proposed measures include creating comprehensive school databases to support financial inclusion, linking school associations with financial institutions to design suitable products, and encouraging specialized education-sector lending mechanisms.
Another long-standing challenge addressed by the NPNSN is multiple taxation. By requiring taxes and levies to be streamlined, the policy seeks to protect low-fee schools from predatory and duplicative charges that often threaten their survival. Complementing this is guaranteed access to government-organized teacher professional development, ensuring that educators in non-state schools regardless of their resources can improve quality and meet national standards.
Importantly, the policy reframes quality assurance away from punitive enforcement toward supportive improvement. Inspections are to be coordinated, scheduled, and communicated in advance, with unified standards and clear guidance. The emphasis is on helping schools improve rather than disrupting learning through uncoordinated regulatory visits.
Meanwhile, since education falls under the concurrent list in Nigeria, the National policy sets the framework, but effective implementation depends on state-level domestication because basic schools that the policy is meant to regulate are within the purview of the subnational governments. This is where DAWN Commission, the technocratic institution established by the six Southwest Governments to strengthen governance in the region and facilitate regional collaboration and integration, has been intervening. The Commission did not only contribute to the policy drafting, it has also been at the forefront of advocating for domestication of the policy and extending technical support to the states like Lagos, Ogun and Oyo, Ekiti States that have shown interest in domesticating the policy. Though, DAWN Commission has benefited immensely from its partnership with the UK’s FCDO/PLANE programme.
This regional approach reflects practical realities. The Southwest exhibits wide variation in school distribution, regulatory capacity, fiscal space, and school typologies. The States combines elite schools with vast numbers of low-fee schools in informal settlements, while including is predominantly rural and community-based landscape domestication allows each state to adapt the national framework to local contexts without diluting core standards.
Central to the DAWN-FCDO approach is stakeholder-driven implementation. State ministries, private school associations, civil society groups, regulators, and school proprietors are actively involved in the policy formulation. Coalition-building particularly among low-fee school operators ensures that voices historically excluded from policymaking now shape implementation. Importantly, domestication extends beyond policy documents to include detailed implementation plans, timelines, responsibilities, and monitoring frameworks.
When effectively domesticated, the NPNSN delivers tangible outcomes: clear pathways for informal schools to gain recognition; access to training and finance; protection from excessive taxation; improved school safety; recognized certificates; and stronger data for government planning. Students gain continuity, teachers gain professional legitimacy, parents gain transparency, and government gains a clearer picture of the education system that is constitutionally obligated to serve.
Critics may question public investment in non-state institutions that are considered to be business venture, but this framing misses the essential point. These schools educate real children – Nigeria’s future! The Universal Basic Education Act’s obligation does not vanish when a child attends a community or low-fee private school. Excluding nearly one-third of learners from planning and support undermines the entire education system.
The National Policy on Non-State Schools represents more than regulatory reform. It signals a shift toward shared responsibility, pragmatic partnership, and evidence-based governance. As Southwest states advance domestication, they offer a replicable model for the rest of the country – demonstrating that integrating diverse education providers within common standards is not only possible, but it is essential to delivering quality education for every Nigerian child.
Written by:
Kehinde Adebayo
Senior Associate, Education Desk