Community Schools as Alternative Basic Education Providers in Conflict-Affected Communities in Borno State

This study examines the role and effectiveness of community schools as alternative basic education providers in conflict-affected communities in Borno State, North East Nigeria. In areas where formal government schools have been destroyed, abandoned, or rendered inaccessible by insecurity, community-established learning spaces have emerged as critical stopgap education providers. These schools, often supported by NGOs and managed by community volunteers, provide basic literacy and numeracy instruction to children who would otherwise be entirely excluded from education. A qualitative comparative case study design was adopted, examining five community schools in Maiduguri, Konduga, and Gwoza local government areas. Data were collected through classroom observations, interviews with 40 community teachers, school committee members, and parents, and document review of learning outcome assessment results. Effectiveness dimensions assessed include enrolment sustainability, learning outcome quality, teacher retention, and government integration pathways. Thematic analysis was applied. Results reveal that community schools successfully enrol and retain children who would otherwise be out of school, but learning quality is significantly constrained by untrained community teachers, absent curriculum materials, and irregular supervision. Schools with NGO support demonstrated markedly better quality indicators. Integration into formal government recognition has been slow and uncertain. The study concludes that community schools serve a vital but currently under-supported emergency education role in Borno State. It recommends that the state government develop a formal community school recognition and integration framework that provides training, materials, and a teacher salary support pathway for qualifying community schools.

Keywords: community schools, alternative education, conflict-affected communities, Borno State, emergency education.