Research

There were numerous researches conducted over the years on Nomadic Education Programme (NEP) in Nigeria. Nomads in Africa constitute about 6% of the population and are found in at least 20 different countries across the region. They are categorized into three major groups based on their mobile lifestyle. These are the settled, semi –settled and the transient groups. The nomadic population in Nigeria accounts for 9.4 million out of which 3.1 million are school-age children. The majority of them are pastoralists (7 million), while others are migrant fisher folk and farmers. The participation of the nomads in existing formal and non-formal education programmes is extremely low, with the population’s literacy rate ranging from 0.2% to 2.0% in 1988. Nomads Profile in Nigeria:

• Population (1991): 9.4 million
• Population (2010): approximately 15 million
• Population distribution shows majority live in beyond the rural areas
• Children of school age: 3.1 million
• Education profile(1988): 0.2-2.0%
• Enrolment (2010) : 482,049
• Education profile(2010): 10%-12%

EXCLUSION FACTORS

• The major constraints to their participation in formal and non-formal education are:
• Their constant migrations/movements in search of water and pasture, in the case of the pastoralists, and fish, in the case of the migrant fishermen;
• The centrality of child labour to their production system, thus making it extremely difficult to allow their children to participate in formal schooling;
• The irrelevance of the school curriculum, which is tailored to meet the needs of sedentary groups and thus ignores the educational needs of nomadic peoples;
• Their physical isolation, since they operate in largely inaccessible physical environments; and
• A land-tenure system that makes it difficult for the nomads to acquire land and settle in one place.