Amid rising concern over Nigeria’s deepening education crisis, Laide Abel, Programme Managing Director of education technology company New Globe, has made an impassioned appeal for urgent and collective action, warning that the country’s future is at stake if foundational learning continues to deteriorate.
Speaking in a recent interview with Arise News, Abel did not mince words: “If a child is unable to read, what we’re doing effectively is we’re gagging them. And there are millions of children in this situation. And it’s a problem.”
Her remarks came on the heels of a high-level education summit in Abuja, where governors from across Nigeria met with New Globe and other stakeholders to address the growing gap between school attendance and actual learning outcomes. Despite increased school enrollment, UNICEF’s latest figures reveal a staggering 18.3 million out-of-school children in Nigeria. Even among those in school, three out of four pupils cannot read a simple sentence by age 10.
Abel stressed that poor foundational learning—defined as early childhood through junior secondary school—has long-term consequences that stretch into adulthood and the labor market.
“The foundation is the most important part of anything—even in a building,” she said. “When children are unable to read at that level, they struggle through their education and into the workforce. You interview 100 people for a role and struggle to find one good person. The problem starts from the foundation.”
Abel outlined a wide range of factors contributing to the crisis. She cited parental ignorance, poverty, teacher quality, inconsistent policy, and an overemphasis on school infrastructure at the expense of learning.
“You’ll be amazed to find that there are parents who still think it is better for their children to help them with farming than to go to school—even in this day and age,” she lamented. “Some parents are just unaware. Even in 2025, they don’t know that education is important.”
She added that the quality of free government schools often discourages parents from enrolling younger children. “If a mother sends her child to school and they leave primary six unable to read or write, the siblings are not likely to attend.”
In tackling what she called a “non-linear problem,” Abel cautioned against oversimplification. “There’s no silver bullet. Everything you mentioned is part of the problem,” she told Arise News, referencing issues of teacher training, motivation, lateness, and absenteeism.
“Are we training teachers on literacy and numeracy? Are we teaching them how to teach children, not just how to speak? Even teacher commitment is an issue—when a teacher arrives at 10 a.m. instead of 7:30, children lose hours of learning.”
Abel described New Globe’s intervention model as a “360-degree approach” that addresses multiple layers of the problem simultaneously—at scale.
“It cannot be a solution that you prefer for just one or two or ten schools,” she explained. “In Kwara State alone, we work with over 1,600 government primary schools. Technology is a must.”
The organisation’s work focuses on transforming and standardising the quality of education. “A child in a remote village and a child in the state capital must receive the same quality of education,” Abel emphasised. “Just because they’re born in a disadvantaged area doesn’t mean they should suffer.”
New Globe employs a data-driven model that combines real-time digital tools, structured lesson guides, intensive teacher training, and ongoing coaching. According to Abel, the goal is to address the severe learning gaps—sometimes in children as old as primary six who cannot read words like “the” or “you.”
“It’s like flying an airplane and fixing it at the same time,” she said. “You have to keep teaching that child at their grade level while rushing in the foundational literacy and numeracy they missed.”
Teachers undergo a 10-day intensive training** before entering classrooms. “We train them on how to use digital tools, how to motivate children, and even how to model proper classroom behavior. They must get to class on time. They can’t leave early.”
Data plays a central role in New Globe’s strategy. “We distribute lessons digitally, and we also collect data to refine our methods and assist state governments in better managing schools,” Abel explained.
Beyond the classroom, New Globe also works with communities—engaging parents, local leaders, and running enrollment drives. “We all have to join hands,” she said. “Everyone has a role to play.”
The recent summit and ongoing dialogue between the Nigerian Governors Forum, UBEC, and New Globe offer a glimmer of hope. As Abel put it, “The important thing is, it is a topic now—both within Nigeria and outside—that everyone is looking at. And that’s a good starting point.”
Still, the urgency is undeniable. “If we continue like this, we are raising a generation that cannot read, cannot write, and cannot contribute meaningfully to the economy,” she warned.
With one final plea, she left viewers with a call to conscience: “We must understand that learning is different from school attendance. And until every Nigerian child can truly learn, the future remains uncertain,”she said.
Boluwatife Enome
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