The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced plans to prohibit school-age children from roaming the streets during school hours as part of broader efforts to tackle the out-of-school crisis and strengthen learning outcomes in the state.
Sanwo-Olu revealed that an executive order would soon be issued to enforce the measure, ensuring that children expected to be in school are not seen on the streets between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. without a valid reason.
The governor made the disclosure on Friday during the launch of the Lagos Education Access Fund (LEAF) and the inauguration of the board of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board.
According to him, the order is designed to reinforce accountability among parents, communities and institutions responsible for ensuring children attend school regularly.
“No child should be seen outside between 8.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. unless there is a very good reason that child is not in school,” Sanwo-Olu said.
He explained that the newly launched LEAF represents a shift from focusing solely on school enrolment figures to prioritising measurable learning outcomes, including improvements in literacy, numeracy and student retention.
Through partnerships with the Education Outcome Fund and other development partners, Lagos plans to deploy $25 million in outcomes-based financing to support more than 200,000 children across the state.
The initiative is expected to enrol over 50,000 out-of-school children aged six to 14 into formal education through community outreach and targeted interventions aimed at removing barriers to school attendance.
Another 150,000 pupils already enrolled in schools will receive support to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes, ensuring that classroom attendance translates into meaningful learning and long-term success.
“This initiative is not just about funding education; it is about ensuring every investment translates into real learning, real opportunity and measurable outcomes for our children,” the governor said.
Sanwo-Olu highlighted the state’s ongoing Project Zero initiative, which he said has helped identify, track and enrol more than 36,000 out-of-school children over the past decade.
He added that the government had also supported more than 360 parents and guardians with vocational training in areas such as fashion design, soap making, catering and hairdressing to improve household incomes and sustain children’s education.
The governor further noted that Lagos had significantly expanded its education infrastructure in recent years.
“We have built more schools and classrooms in the last seven years than were built in the previous 20 years,” he said, adding that one school complex alone would soon deliver 35 schools capable of accommodating nearly 20,000 students.
Earlier at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of the Education Outcome Fund, Amel Karboul, praised Lagos for adopting an accountability-driven model for financing education.
Karboul said governments often invest heavily in education infrastructure and materials but fail to achieve measurable improvements in learning outcomes.
“The most important infrastructure any nation can build is educated minds,” she said, commending Lagos for prioritising results-based funding tied directly to student learning.
She noted that the initiative, supported by partners including the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and the Federal Ministry of Education (Nigeria), could serve as a model for other regions seeking to reform education financing.
At the event, Sanwo-Olu also inaugurated a new board for the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, appointing Hakeem Shittu as chairman to oversee implementation of the reforms.
In his acceptance speech, Shittu pledged that the board would focus on enrolling vulnerable children, strengthening learning outcomes and ensuring accountability in public education spending.
“It is not enough for children to sit in classrooms. They must learn,” Shittu said, adding that the board would work to ensure that education investments produce measurable results across Lagos State.
