One year after the Federal Government introduced the National Policy on Non-State Schools, stakeholders say its expected impact is yet to be felt, as many state governments have not adopted or implemented the framework.
The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) has expressed concern over the slow pace of domestication of the policy, warning that weak political commitment at the state level is delaying reforms aimed at improving access to quality education.
The Federal Government launched the policy on July 16, 2025, to provide a framework for regulating and supporting private, faith-based, community and other non-state schools across Nigeria.
Speaking on the development, NAPPS National President, Yomi Otubela, described the policy as a commendable initiative but said its objectives would remain unrealised unless states deliberately adopt and implement it.
“The policy itself was not fundamentally misplaced; rather, the challenge has been translating its objectives into concrete action at the state level,” he said.
According to Otubela, stronger political commitment from state governments is essential because education falls under the Concurrent Legislative List.
“Without deliberate commitment from state governments, national policies will remain largely aspirational,” he added.
He also called for sustained engagement with private school proprietors, state chapters of NAPPS, education regulators, parents and development partners to ensure the successful implementation of the policy.
Otubela urged governments to provide clear implementation guidelines, timelines and accountability mechanisms while preserving the core objectives of the national framework.
He further advocated a shift from regulation to partnership, calling for concessionary financing, reduced multiple taxation, capacity-building programmes and greater inclusion of private schools in government interventions.
“Private schools should be partners in national development, not merely as entities to be regulated,” he said.
Also speaking, the Director of Programme Quality and Influencing at Plan International, Helen Idiong, described the policy as a necessary response to the growing role of non-state schools in educating millions of Nigerian children.
However, she said implementation has been slowed by competing priorities and weak political will across many states.
“The bigger challenge, like in most policies in Nigeria, is implementation, especially at the state level. Most states are dealing with competing priorities and have low political will to implement or even domesticate it,” she said.
Idiong urged state governments to develop clear implementation roadmaps, strengthen stakeholder engagement and strike a balance between regulation and support to improve quality, safety, inclusion and learning outcomes.
She added that the policy’s success should be measured by its impact on children’s learning and access to quality education rather than by the number of states that domesticate it.
An education quality assurance consultant at Eliara Education Consulting, Funmilayo Awoniyi, also attributed the slow pace of implementation to weak state ownership, limited implementation capacity and low awareness of the policy.
According to her, although states such as Lagos, Edo and Nasarawa have begun preliminary consultations, none has completed full legal domestication through gazetting and enforceable implementation structures.
Awoniyi noted that many educators and school proprietors remain unaware of the policy because it has not been fully communicated or adopted at the state level.
She identified inadequate funding, weak quality assurance systems, poor education management information s…
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