By: Evans Asikoyo
Across Africa’s slums and neglected regions, children sit in crumbling classrooms—or none at all. Poverty, insecurity, and neglect are stealing their right to learn, raising fears of a generation left behind.
Africa is often celebrated as a continent of promise, blessed with youthful energy, cultural diversity, and abundant natural resources. Yet in its slums and marginalized regions, millions of people live in neglect, poverty, and systemic exclusion. The most devastating casualty of this reality is education, which holds the key to breaking the very cycle of deprivation these communities are trapped in.
The statistics are sobering. UNESCO estimates that sub-Saharan Africa is home to more than 98 million children and youth who are currently out of school. Globally, the region bears the highest exclusion rates, with one-fifth of children aged 6 to 11, one-third of adolescents aged 12 to 14, and nearly 60 percent of youth aged 15 to 17 denied access to school. In Eastern and Southern Africa alone, 46 million children remain out of school. Worse still, the World Bank reports that 87 percent of 10-year-olds in sub-Saharan Africa cannot read and understand a simple text—a crisis described as “learning poverty.”
In Kenya, slums like Kibera and Mathare symbolize this crisis. Children study in makeshift classrooms built of iron sheets or mud, often without desks or books. A Uwezo Kenya report revealed that only three out of ten pupils in Nairobi’s informal settlements could read a Grade 2 story, compared to six out of ten in wealthier neighborhoods. Poverty forces many children to drop out, either to earn a living or because their parents cannot afford exam fees. In rural counties such as Turkana, long distances to schools further discourage attendance, particularly for girls.
Nigeria faces an even greater challenge, with UNICEF estimating over 20 million children out of school—the highest number worldwide. In the north, insecurity and the threat of abductions, such as the infamous Chibok incident, continue to discourage parents from sending their daughters to school. In Lagos, sprawling slums like Makoko suffer from severe overcrowding and underfunded schools, this is according to the research done by Dr. Juma Ignatius, creating little chance for children to escape poverty through education.
South Africa’s inequality is just as striking. Elite private schools rival international standards, yet township schools in areas like Khayelitsha and Soweto are under-resourced, overcrowded, and plagued by violence. Equal Education reported in 2023 that more than 70 percent of learners cannot read for meaning by age ten. For many township children, the classroom is no safe haven but a place overshadowed by gangs, drugs, and despair.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, despite the abolition of primary school fees in 2019 which boosted enrollment by 3.7 million children, conflict and displacement continue to erode progress. Schools in North Kivu are often turned into refugee shelters, while teachers remain unpaid for months. UNICEF estimates that more than seven million Congolese children are in urgent need of educational support.
Uganda struggles with similar issues. A UNICEF study found that one in four children of school age is out of school, with girls disproportionately affected by early marriage and child labor. Even in Kampala’s slums, schools lack toilets, desks, and basic teaching materials, leaving children crammed into overcrowded classrooms where meaningful learning is nearly impossible.
The consequences of this neglect are devastating. Education should be the great equalizer, the bridge out of poverty, but in Africa’s slums and marginalized regions, it is failing. Children who drop out too soon are trapped in cycles of joblessness and despair. Girls without access to school face early marriage and exploitation. Insecure and violent environments rob children not only of learning opportunities but also of their safety and dignity.
Yet glimmers of hope remain. In Kenya, the Tusome program has helped improve literacy rates among primary pupils. In Nigeria, community-based schools supported by NGOs are giving girls a second chance at education. In South Africa, advocacy groups are pressing for government accountability in township schools. Across the continent, technology is also beginning to bridge learning gaps, with digital platforms offering low-cost lessons even where teachers are scarce.
Still, change demands more than isolated success stories. Governments must invest deliberately in schools for the poor, ensuring infrastructure, teachers, and resources reach those who need them most. International partners should focus support on the most vulnerable communities, while communities themselves must embrace the value of education, especially for girls.
The stakes could not be higher. If Africa continues to neglect education in its slums and marginalized regions, it risks raising a generation condemned to poverty, unemployment, and hopelessness. But if it chooses to invest in every child—whether in Kibera, Makoko, Khayelitsha, Goma, or Kampala—it will unlock a future where the continent’s promise finally matches its potential.
