On a given school morning, over 1.3 million children arrive to learn at various public primary schools across Akwa Ibom state. In a country where a persistent education crisis has meant that nearly 20 million are not in school, Akwa Ibom’s high enrolment is newsworthy.
Akwa Ibom should ordinarily not be a school enrolment heavyweight. It’s not a heavyweight in population, ranking 19th in population among Nigeria’s 36 states, yet it stands fifth nationally for primary school enrolment. Pull up the data and something immediately jumps out: the state enrolls more than double the number of primary-age children it’s supposed to have.
The National Population Commission (NPC) says there should be around 698,000 primary-age children in Akwa Ibom. The state government and the Universal Basic Education Commission say there are 1.5 million children enrolled in both public and private primary schools. Put differently, around 30% of the state’s population, estimated at 5.3 million people, are primary school pupils. Someone’s numbers are off. Most likely, it’s the estimated census figures from the NPC. Nigeria’s population data has always been more political than scientific. But there’s another explanation too: it’s possible Akwa Ibom has been bringing back over-age learners, teenagers who missed out on education and are now catching up.
Whatever the case, the journey to high enrolment started some time ago for the state. Governor Godswill Akpabio (2007 to 2015) rejuvenated the state’s education ambitions in 2009 when he declared compulsory and free education from primary through secondary school. Nigerian governors announce things all the time. What made this different was that Akpabio actually followed through.
It’s been reported that the government followed up its declaration with the distribution of books and teaching materials with school. The state began paying examination fees on behalf of pupils to help remove a barrier that stops countless Nigerian children from sitting their final exams after years of study. Children were also banned from street hawking during school hours as parents who violated the ban faced penalties.
Within two years, enrolment surged and more than doubled within a decade and a half. The results are visible even in the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey which shows that Akwa Ibom is the only state where over 99% of adults have experienced some formal education.
However, does the infrastructure reflect this surge in enrolment? There are 2,762 primary schools across the state’s 7,081 square kilometres. Private schools actually outnumber public ones: 1,618 to 1,144. There are only 1.6 public schools per 10 square kilometres, or 2.2 per 10,000 people. Based on the enrolment data, the average public primary school has around 1,100 pupils.
This is most unusual for primary schools that are supposed to be spread out and sited close to pupils. When there are over 1,100 pupils in a primary school, it is highly likely that classrooms have become overcrowded and teachers overworked. You can get children through the gates, but you can’t necessarily educate them once they’re inside.
The learning data confirms this. UNICEF’s 2023 figures show that only 35% of seven to fourteen-year-olds in Akwa Ibom can read at a Primary 2/3 level. Thirteen other Nigerian states do better. Think about that: a state that’s succeeded in getting more children into school than almost anywhere else in the country is still failing to teach most of them to read properly.
The budget reveals why. Despite its ambitious education programme, Akwa Ibom spent just 5% of its state budget on education in 2024.
You can mandate free schooling, but quality costs money. Teacher salaries. Training programmes. Learning materials. Smaller class sizes mean building more classrooms and hiring more staff. The state has committed to access without committing the resources for quality.
Equally important to note is that despite the surge in enrolment, about 10% of school-age children in the state are said to remain out of school, mainly in rural areas where schools are furthest away. But the bigger question hangs over the 90% who are enrolled: what exactly are they learning in those crowded classrooms?
This is the paradox of Akwa Ibom’s education story. The state has achieved something remarkable: proof that political will can expand access even without vast resources. That matters in a country where millions of children have no access at all. Getting 1.5 million children into schools is real progress, not something to dismiss.
But progress towards what? On enrolment day each year, those school gates swing open and children pour in. The question is what they take with them when they leave years later. Attendance records? Yes. A primary school certificate? Probably. But literacy? Numeracy? The kind of education that genuinely changes life prospects? For too many, the answer is no.
Akwa Ibom is winning the first fight, getting children through the door. Now comes the second, harder battle of making sure those children actually learn something once they’re inside. The state is punching above its weight in enrolment, but in education, access without learning is just expensive babysitting.
The 1.3 million children walking into Akwa Ibom public primary school each morning deserve more than a desk to sit at. They deserve a functional education. Whether Akwa Ibom can deliver that remains the real test, but I am rooting for them to figure it out.
Sodiq Alabi writes regularly for Arbiterz and leads programmes at EduIntel.
