School in Nigeria: nine years of basic education, free and compulsory
Nigeria has nine years of basic education: six years of primary and three years of junior secondary. Under the 2004 act this is free and compulsory at public schools, and parents must make sure their child attends. If you are choosing a school, also look at your child's visa and at child benefit, which stops.
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Nigeria has nine years of basic education: six years of primary school and then three years of junior secondary school. Under the Universal Basic Education Act of 2004, every government in Nigeria must offer that basic education free and compulsory to every child of that age, and every parent must make sure their child completes it. At public schools it is free: anyone who still charges fees there commits an offence. Before that comes pre-primary education, for children up to age six.
How is education structured?
| Stage | Duration or age according to the source | Free and compulsory? |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary education (ECCDE) | before age six | not named as compulsory |
| Primary school | 6 years, from age 6 | yes, at public schools |
| Junior secondary school | 3 years, following on | yes, at public schools |
| Senior secondary school | after basic education | not covered by the 2004 act |
| Examination | at the end of the nine years | — |
What does the law say about free and compulsory?
Section 2 of the act obliges "every Government in Nigeria" to provide free, compulsory basic education to every child of primary and junior secondary school age. Every parent must make sure their child completes both. A parent who doesn't is reprimanded on a first conviction, and on a second gets a fine of N2,000 or a month in prison. Section 3 makes the services of public primary and junior secondary schools free; anyone who still charges fees there risks a fine of up to N10,000 or three months in prison.
Those duties apply to people living in Nigeria. Under sections 4 and 5, parents and children living outside Nigeria are not covered.
According to the law, free applies to public primary and junior secondary schools. If you choose a private or international school, you pay fees; count on that before you look for a home nearby. And the free duty doesn't apply to senior secondary school.
How does the move from primary to secondary work?
According to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), a pupil moves automatically from primary to junior secondary, because basic education only ends after junior secondary. An entrance examination is therefore no longer needed; schools work with continuous assessment, and the examination and certificate come at the end of the nine years. What comes after, senior secondary school, falls outside the 2004 act.
Which visa or passport does your child need?
That depends on who your child is. If a parent is Nigerian, under the Constitution the child is Nigerian by birth and can get a Nigerian passport. For a minor, the immigration service asks among other things for proof of the parent's Nigerian nationality, the birth certificate, and a letter of consent from a parent. Children born in Nigeria need a birth certificate from the National Population Commission. See also dual nationality and Nigeria.
If your child isn't Nigerian, they need a visa of their own, which hangs on the parent's visa. The immigration service has visas for children of permanent residents, of employees in a free zone, with an international NGO or the government, and of clerics. For the child of an ordinary employee (R2A visa) it names no visa of its own: ask the NIS. For full-time study at an approved institution there is also a student visa. Which route fits your family is in the residence routes.
What do you arrange in the Netherlands?
Take the school papers along: reports, certificates, and for older children diplomas and transcripts. According to DUO, you first have a Dutch diploma or transcript legalised at DUO, then at a court or the Consular Service Centre, and often also at the country's embassy. Ask the school in Nigeria which documents it wants to see.
Child benefit stops: under section 7b of the General Child Benefit Act you have no right to child benefit for a child who does not live in the Netherlands on the first day of a quarter, outside the EU rules. So count on going without from the first quarter after you leave. More about the order for families is in the plan for Nigeria.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 3 of 5 of the journey, step 3.5: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Nigeria or go straight to step 3.5 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act 2004, sections 2 to 5 (UBEC) — ubec.gov.ng
- Universal Basic Education Commission — nine years of basic education, primary, junior secondary and pre-primary education — ubec.gov.ng
- Nigeria Immigration Service — passport for a Nigerian minor, with birth certificate and consent — immigration.gov.ng
- Nigeria Immigration Service — visa classes, with the student visa and the dependants of employees — immigration.gov.ng
- Nigeria Immigration Service — Service Level Agreement 2026, the visas for family members per class, and no family visa of its own with the R2A work visa — immigration.gov.ng
- General Child Benefit Act, section 7b — no child benefit for a child outside the Netherlands — wetten.overheid.nl
- DUO — legalising a Dutch diploma or transcript for use abroad — duo.nl
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