Twelve-year-old Hauwa Bisani attended primary school for two years before her father, Bisani Daniel, withdrew her. As Ruga settlers living in the Fombina community in Adamawa State, the nearest school to their camp is about 2 kilometres away. The area’s challenging terrain and persistent security threats sometimes make the school trip a perilous two-hour journey on foot for Hauwa and other children living in the camp. Although elderly persons are assigned to escort them daily to school, reports of potential dangers loom in the community.
A recent case of a teacher sexually abusing a young girl in Doubeli area which is approximately 5 km from Hauwa’s camp, sparked concern among parents. Elders in Hauwa’s settlement, worried about their children’s safety, decided it was no longer worth the risk for them to travel long distances for school. As Hauwa’s dad withdrew her from school, other parents in the Fombina Community did the same for their children. Consequently, the only form of education available to the children was halted.
There are 437,000 out-of-school children in Adamawa state, according to UNESCO. Among those enrolled in school, literacy levels remain critically low with only 11% of pupils in Adamawa reaching the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) foundational literacy benchmark.
A report by Research on Improving System Of Education (Rise), indicates that inadequate infrastructure and distance to school are major supply-side factors contributing to the out-of-school-children numbers in Nigeria. Specifically, distance to school accounts for 6% of this issue, poor school quality contributes 13%, safety and labour concerns make up 14%, and monetary costs represent 26%.
Despite allocating 11.43% (₦20BN) of the 2023 Adamawa state budget to education, rural nomadic education remains underfunded. Only 6 out of 141 schools are functional, serving 17,246 pupils, while the others are not mapped.
As hope for governmental intervention in the Fombina Community diminishes, Tent to School Education Initiative (Tent2School), a youth-driven, volunteer-powered development organisation, is bridging the gap by utilising makeshift classrooms.
The team initially came to Fombina for the National Youth Service Corp, Community Development Service (NYSC CDS), however during their interactions with the community leaders, they observed that children in the settlement have no access to formal education. Despite this, the children curiously sat around the visitors attempting to sing the National Anthem with the visitors.
Seeing the enthusiasm from the children, they saw the opportunity to collaborate with the community to bridge the education gap. With the support and participation of the community leaders and parents, what started as a CDS visit evolved into Tent2School.
However, gaining access and trust of a deeply traditional community where education is deprioritised wasn’t immediate. The team organised multiple dialogues with the community leaders and parents, highlighting how their ward’s education could benefit them and structuring the class schedule with the children’s daily routines.
Initial conversations were met with scepticism. “Our initial discussion was getting the children back to learning, and also how we can achieve the goal together with the community as a whole” Riki Siman, team lead Tent2School told Edugist.
The Scheme
At first, getting the children to gather for classes was challenging, as many spent their days working on farms, herding animals, or helping with household chores. With no fixed school routine, lessons were often interrupted and finding a balance between their daily responsibilities and education was a struggle.
“To make it work, we sat down with parents and established flexible class hours from 2 PM to 5 PM—when both parents and children were available,” Riki said.
When parents witnessed the first group of children learning basic words and solving math problems, they allowed their wards to attend classes. Within weeks, both attendance and enrollment increased.
To accommodate the growing student population, Tent2School constructed a zinc structure as a makeshift classroom. This was made possible through direct funding from Eternal Love Service, a charity primarily operating in Adamawa. To reduce labour costs, community members contributed their physical labour and craftsmanship.
Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL)
Focusing on basic literacy and numeracy, Tent2School uses two models: Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). TaRL classes break free from the “chalk and talk” practices commonly found in primary school classrooms worldwide by encouraging engaging, fun, and creative activities that build foundational reading and mathematics skills. UDL is a framework designed to improve and optimise teaching and learning for all students, based on scientific insights into how people learn. It includes guidelines grouped into three categories: Engagement, Representation, and Action & Expression.
Grace Iyanuoluwa, a 23-year-old volunteer teacher with Tent2School, explaining the approach said: “After we group the children, we modify our lesson plan to align with their understanding instead of following a fixed curriculum. Some children understand better with visual aids, while others grasp concepts better through storytelling or hands-on activities like drawing and dancing.”
Tent2School relies on three volunteer teachers, including Grace. All three live in Jimeta and Yola, approximately 2 to 5 km from the community. Classes take place four times a week—from Mondays to Thursdays. This means the teachers travel long distances: over 3 km on a tricycle, followed by another 500 meters on a motorcycle to reach the community. On some days, delays are inevitable; on others, the journey is too difficult, and classes are cancelled.
On days when classes are held, teachers use both Hausa and English to instruct the children, explaining concepts in Hausa and later introducing the corresponding English words and sentences, as Hausa is the most widely understood language among the students.
Due to limited resources, Tent2School relies on low-cost, locally available materials. Teachers write lessons on large pieces of cardboard attached to the zinc walls of the learning space. They use counting stones and illustrations to reinforce lessons. Teachers also encourage students to draw or use songs for their assignments and classwork to aid memory and comprehension.
Dreams Ignited
The midline assessment conducted by the teachers most recently showed that 70% of the children improved in basic numeracy, shape identification and alphabet identification. While 65% have demonstrated reading skills.
Haruna Indawa, 62-year-old community leader of Fombina camp says there’s been significant improvement in the numeracy and literacy levels of kids in the community. “With the help of these young people, now our children can speak English and read” “Our prayer is for these children to prosper and help us in the near future.
“The good part is that Tent2School classes are within our community, our children are safe and we pray they grow up to become doctors, engineers and pilots,” Indawa told Edugist.
For students like Baba Danlami, 10, singing during lessons made new words easy to remember He remembered how he memorised the 26 English alphabets by singing them.
Abubakar Sadiq Aminu, an education activist and Adamawa State team lead of Connected Development (CODE) argues that learning can take place anywhere and education is more effective when it involves a collaborative approach involving the government, stakeholders, and community members.
Highlighting safety concerns and distance as a major factor keeping children out of school, Abubakar said “For children, trekking long distance to school every day can be exhausting” “Ïn communities where threats like harassment or perceived violence, parents often choose to keep their children at home rather than risk their safety.
“By bringing school within the community, the program improved access to education and addressed safety concerns and out-of-school children’s challenges,” said Aminu.
__
This story was produced with the support of the Solutions Journalism Network and the Nigeria Health Watch in partnership with Edugist.
