Around the world, millions of children live with rights that exist only on paper. UNICEF’s recent figures paint a grim picture: as of 2023, 272 million children and young people remain out of school — a number that has risen by 3 percent since 2015. These are not just distant statistics; each figure represents a child whose promise is slipping away, not because they lack ability, but because opportunity was never placed within reach. In many low-income and least-developed countries, the situation is worsened by the lack of basic school infrastructure.
A third of schools have no sanitation, more than half lack electricity and two-thirds have no digital learning tools. Where education should be the great equalizer, it is instead becoming another dividing line.
This widening gap threatens progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4, quality education for all by 2030. Education is not just a classroom activity; it is the engine that drives every other development target. It reduces inequality, strengthens community resilience, improves health outcomes and helps families lift themselves out of poverty. It inspires innovation and prepares children to build the future they imagine. But the world cannot realize any of these benefits if education continues to be treated as an optional burden rather than a national investment priority.
UNICEF, however, is showing what is possible when governments and communities receive the support they need. The organisation is rebuilding damaged schools, supplying learning materials and delivering digital tools — including solar-powered devices for off-grid areas. It is training teachers, supporting early childhood development and strengthening community-based education for children who cannot access formal classrooms. Perhaps most importantly, UNICEF is working directly with parents, caregivers and local leaders to ensure that learning is valued and sustained at home. These efforts are transforming communities. In rural Nepal, for example, children who once herded cattle or worked in fields are now back in school. Mothers who never had the chance to learn are gaining new income-generating skills, allowing families to send their children to the classroom instead of the farm. Local leaders, banana farmers, school principals and community volunteers—are stepping up to enrol out-of-school children one household at a time. These are examples of what happens when development support meets committed local action.
Nigeria, unfortunately, mirrors many of these global challenges. The country still carries one of the world’s highest burdens of out-of-school children, driven by insecurity, poverty and weak infrastructure. Yet, just like in Nepal, Nigeria is full of unsung heroes — teachers giving lessons under trees, parents making sacrifices to keep children enrolled and volunteers setting up community learning hubs. Their dedication is admirable, but no education system should depend solely on personal sacrifice. A nation cannot secure its future on goodwill alone.
Nigeria must now move from narratives to action. Education should be treated with the same seriousness as roads, hospitals and power projects. Increased funding must translate into modern classrooms, electricity, water and sanitation—essentials without which learning cannot happen. Teachers need better training, incentives and access to digital tools. Rural and insecure areas should be supported with flexible solutions such as mobile classrooms, radio lessons and safe community learning hubs. Early childhood education must become a priority, and the country must urgently close its digital divide by investing in solar-powered tech tools and community digital centres. Above all, Nigeria must learn to listen to its children. As the theme for World Children’s Day 2025 reminds us, children do not seek pity; they simply want their voices to matter.
Building a future where every child learns is not a task for governments alone. It demands collective responsibility—from policymakers to parents, from international partners like UNICEF to local communities. No child should have to cross rivers, work in fields or risk their safety just to access the education that should be their right. When governments commit, when communities unite and when children are finally heard, rights will stop existing only on paper.
They will come alive in classrooms, in communities and in the futures children dare to imagine. Only then will Children’s Day truly belong to the children.
