Out-of-School Children and Economic Vulnerability: A Civic Education Crisis in Kaduna State, Nigeria
Keywords:
out-of-school children, economic vulnerability, civic education, ROOSC project, school dropout, banditryAbstract
The escalating population of out-of-school children (OOSC) in Kaduna State, Nigeria represents a multidimensional convergence of entrenched economic vulnerability, chronic insecurity, and systemic civic disengagement that has persistently undermined the region's educational attainment landscape. This study investigated the specific dimensions of economic vulnerability most predictive of school dropout, examined the influence of the Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROOSC) project on school re-enrolment rates among economically vulnerable households, and explored the potential of civic education to promote economic resilience among out-of-school youth in Kaduna State. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey design. A total of 384 respondents were drawn using stratified and purposive sampling techniques across five local government areas of Kaduna State. Structured questionnaires constituted the primary data collection instrument, and data were analysed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis, chi-square test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Findings revealed that household income insufficiency (β = .421, p < .001), food insecurity (β = .387, p < .001), and conflict-related insecurity involving banditry and kidnapping (β = .364, p < .001) emerged as the three most significant predictors of school dropout. The ROOSC project demonstrated a statistically significant positive influence on school re-enrolment (χ² = 47.32, df = 4, p < .001). Furthermore, civic education integration significantly predicted economic resilience and reduced vulnerability among out-of-school youth (F = 18.94, p < .001). The study concludes that a holistic, interagency response combining social protection, infrastructure investment, community mobilisation, and civics-based empowerment programming is imperative to reversing Kaduna State's OOSC crisis. Recommendations include the institutionalisation of civic education with livelihood components across all non-formal education pathways, intensification of the ROOSC project across all 23 local government areas, and the establishment of community-based school safety frameworks to address insecurity-driven school abandonment.
