Four states, Borno, Niger, Benue and Sokoto, have endorsed community-based Early Childhood Care and Development schools as a strategy to address the growing number of under-five children missing out on early education.

The states made the commitment at a national ECCD roundtable convened by the Development Research and Projects Centre in collaboration with the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.

The one-day meeting brought together national curriculum planners from the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, the Special Adviser to the Minister of State for Education, the Director of Research at NIPSS, Professor Musa Umar, and education officials from Kano State.

The discussions focused on the adoption of community-based ECCD schools, which use play-based learning to expand access to early childhood education, particularly in underserved communities affected by insecurity and displacement.

Speaking at the event, the Technical Adviser on Education Reform to the Kano State Governor, Mallam Haladu Mohammed, announced that Kano had adopted the dRPC community-based ECCD model.

Mohammed, who spoke on the sidelines of activities marking the International Day of the Girl Child, described the model as a cost-effective and scalable approach to expanding access to early childhood education.

He said the initiative could help more children acquire foundational learning skills before entering formal schooling.

Also speaking, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at the Kano State Ministry of Education confirmed his participation in the evaluation of the dRPC’s eight-year community-based ECCD project.

The project is being implemented by Professor Bala Ado Kofar Mata of Bayero University, Kano.

According to the director, the evaluation would provide empirical evidence on how play-based learning contributes to child development and school readiness.

At the roundtable, the commissioners of education from Niger and Borno states, the Benue State Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and the Chairman of the Sokoto State Universal Basic Education Board said the model was relevant to the educational challenges confronting their states.

They pledged to initiate steps towards replicating the Kano experience in their respective states.

Participants noted that community-based learning could provide an alternative for children in underserved and displacement-affected communities where insecurity has disrupted conventional schooling.

They said the approach could help bring early childhood education closer to communities where access to formal school facilities remains limited.

As part of the outcome of the meeting, the commissioners from Niger and Benue states invited the dRPC team to meet with their respective governors the following week to present the model for possible adoption.

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