Ongoing conflict in Cameroon has forced over 121,000 refugees into Nigeria, intensifying pressure on already strained host communities in Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River and Taraba states.

Schools have welcomed refugee students, but overcrowded classrooms, poor infrastructure, a lack of learning materials, and too few teachers have made it challenging to provide education for all.

With a GPE grant of US$5 million for 2024-2025 and implementation support from Save the Children, the government has expanded access to quality education for over 24,000 refugee children and 7,000 host community children across the five states.

Below are examples of how the program is strengthening the education system and supporting even the most marginalized children.

Improving infrastructure, teaching and learning materials

At Inkiri Primary School, learning used to be a struggle. The school consisted of a tent and four rundown classrooms without desks or benches, and the head teacher was responsible for teaching grades 1 to 6.

With support from the GPE-funded program, two new classrooms and gender-segregated toilets were constructed, and students received essential learning materials, including books, pens and pencils.

The program also helped the school to recruit and train volunteer teachers in literacy and numeracy approaches, including Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL), which tailors lessons to each child’s learning pace.

Yusulu Liberty, a refugee from Cameroon, is among the volunteer teachers supported through the program.

In partnership with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, Save the Children has supported volunteer teachers to achieve professional certification.

Supporting students with disabilities

Children with disabilities are among the most vulnerable in a crisis-affected context and often excluded from education.

Through the GPE-supported program, assessments were conducted in host communities across the five states to identify and support children with disabilities to go to school and learn.

Sodiq is one of 210 students (97 boys and 113 girls) who have received assistive devices – including wheelchairs, hearing aids, glasses and crutches – helping ensure children with disabilities are not left behind.

Improving livelihoods for vulnerable families

The program also supported livelihoods for refugee and host community families, with an aim to enhance their economic resilience and increase education access for their children.

Nigeria has one of the highest shares of out-of-school children in the world. Poverty forces many children to drop out of school to engage in child labor to support their families.

In the highly vulnerable context of Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River and Taraba states, support for income-generating activities for refugee and host community families helped prevent their children from dropping out of school.

With GPE funding, Save the Children established 80 Village Savings and Loans Associations across the five states. These associations teach local business owners how to keep records, manage profits and invest.

Mercy, a widow and a mother of two in Akwa Ibom, previously braided hair from her home to support her family.

With a cash transfer and financial training made possible through the support of Save the Children and GPE, she rented a small salon and expanded her business by stocking hair products.

She later diversified her income, investing in a palm kernel business and selling shoes, applying the financial skills she learned through her local savings association.

Thanks to the strong partnership between the government, GPE, Save the Children, schools and communities, Nigeria is expanding access to quality education for vulnerable children and transforming lives across Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River and Taraba states.

Related story published by GPE:

• Rising together: How Nigerian schools are meeting the needs of refugee and host students

Related video published by Save the Children Nigeria:

• Meet Anasthasia, a volunteer teacher in Benue State, Nigeria