The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has expressed deep concern over the alarming rate of out-of-school children, and low learning achievement in Nigeria, especially in the north-east and north-west regions.
The Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Bauchi, Dr. Tushar Rane, expressed the concern in Gombe during a two-day Regional Stakeholders Engagement Meeting on Out-of-School Children and the Retention, Transition, and Completion Models in Bauchi, Gombe, and Adamawa states.
He says “A staggering 10.2 million primary school-age children and an additional 8.1 million at the junior secondary level are out of school in Nigeria”.
This, according to Dr Rane, positions Nigeria with the challenge of having the largest number of out-of-school children globally, adding that only 63 per cent of children of primary school age children regularly attend school.
According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2021, only 84 per cent of children effectively transition to junior secondary education after primary school completion. Less than 50 per cent – about 2.4 million – of the 5.9 million children who commence Primary Grade 1 annually in Nigeria persist to the conclusion of Junior Secondary Grade 3.
He further noted that an analysis of the MICS reports between 2011 and 2021 shows an increase in dropout rates across all genders at the primary level especially in the northern part of the country.
Dr Tusher Rane, who noted that the report indicates primary-level dropout rate rose from 1% in 2011 to 5% in 2021, said that a similar upward trend is noticeable when considering wealth quintiles.
For students belonging to the poorest wealth quintile, the primary-level dropout rate increased from 2% in 2011 to 6% in 2021, while among students in the richest wealth quintile, the dropout rate also showed an increase, rising from 1% in 2011 to 4% in 2021.
The Bauchi UNICEF Chief explained that this consistent pattern suggests that, compared to a decade ago, the education system in Nigeria faces challenges in retaining students and ensuring their continued education across all the regions and the problem persists in the northeast and northwest.
Dr Tusher Rane identified inadequate evidence-based policy and planning, limited budget allocation, significant shortages of qualified teachers and classrooms, poor infrastructure, cultural norms, health and safety worries, and dependence on children for income and household tasks as some of the numerous obstacles preventing consistent school attendance, timely enrolment, and completion of education for all Nigerian children.
To address the challenges, he said UNICEF in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission, developed the “National Framework of Action to Reduce the Number of Out-of-School Children in Nigeria” and the “Retention, Transition, and Completion Model” which ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all.
He hopes that after the stakeholders’ engagement meeting, they will have clear, targeted, and state-specific strategies that will further ensure that they reduce the rate of out-of-school children and enhance retention, transition and completion.
In his address, the representative of the Director of Basic Education, Federal Ministry
of Education, Auwal Hussaini, laments the high number of out-of-school children in Adamawa, Bauchi and Gombe States, saying the presence of out-of-school children in the society is a persistent reminder that they must do more to bridge the gap between the education system and these marginalised children.
