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Another major challenge to the provision of education to the nomadic community is
accessibility: they are often located in remote places and migrating across hard to reach
locations (Usman 2006). In consultations and collaboration with leaders of the communities,
a National Commission on Nomadic Education (NCNE) was established in 1989, which became
responsible for coordinating formal education of nomadic populations across the country
(McCaffery et al. 2006; Humphreys & Crawfurd, 2014). Nomadic education initiatives include
the provision of mobile schools, use of material that have been adapted to their situations and
language and, use of bespoke interactive radio and TV programmes (Usman 2006; Humphreys
& Crawfurd, 2014). As summarized in Appendix Table B5, fluctuations have been observed in
the number of nomadic schools and enrolment. As of 2010, there were close to 500,000
students (about 44% female) enrolled in more than 3,000 nomadic schools across the country,
mostly in the northern parts of Nigeria, which slightly increased by 2014. The schools teacher-
pupils ratio (TPR) ranged between 35 and 38 within this period (NBS, 2016). Compared with
their estimated population, enrolment gap exists. Also, high dropout rates and low learning
outcomes have been reported (Bah-Lalya et al. 2011; Humphreys & Crawfurd, 2014).
Special Needs Education
The Section Seven of the 2013 edition of National Policy on Education defines Special Education
as component of the education that has been designed to address respective and unique needs
of individuals with disabilities and special needs which may not be adequately catered for by the
general education programme (FME, 2013). However, the special needs education lacks
adequate funding, monitoring and support (Humphreys and Crawfurd, 2014). Sections 106 and
107 of the 2008 edition of the National Policy on Education makes provision for free education
of special needs and people with disabilities at all levels, including the provision of their learning
equipment and infrastructure. Such stipulation is not clearly made stated in the 2013 version
and the commitments seem to be lacking. In practice, although 2% of the Federal Government’s
contribution to the UBE intervention fund was initially allocated supporting children with
special needs, in practice, little is known about the actual amount that is being spent on their
education and very limited monitoring of this component of the basic education has been
reported (Humphreys and Crawfurd, 2014). Reliable data is also scarce in this sector, besides
extensive narratives from donor-supported projects such as the ESSPIN and World Bank-
supported Lagos Eko Secondary Education Project. A report on the Lagos Eko Secondary
Education Project shows that in 2012, all visually impaired students achieved 100% in English,
Maths and Science in their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) examination, which
suggests an improvement from a 2010 baseline achievement of 45%, 50% and 50% in English,
Maths and Science respectively (World Bank, 2013). An evidence of the weak state support for
special needs education is highlighted in the assumption of the 2010 NEDS that 99% of children
were without disability (see NPC and RTI International 2011). Humphreys and Crawfurd (2014:
80) note that alternative data indicates that this is constitutes a substantial underestimation that
is probably due to the prevailing stigma that is attached to conditions of disability. Smith reports
on a disability survey by the Leprosy Mission Nigeria with 1093 respondents in Kogi and Niger
states and notes that the prevailing forms of disabilities were vision (37%), mobility (32%) an
hearing (15%). The report remarkably notes that third of the people with disability surveyed
were below 21 years old and without jobs, and up to 72% of themwere Muslimwhile more than
half had no education, with about 18% having some level of Islamic education. ESSPIN (2013)
also reports its successful public-awareness and mobilization programme in Jigawa State that
resulted in an increased enrolment of children with disabilities in 2011/2012 from 3,500 to
nearly 5,800. These suggest that non-state support to the education of children with special