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| UNICEF Alarmed as Nigeria’s Out-of-School Children Hit 18.3m |
At a two-day Regional Stakeholders Engagement Meeting in Gombe, focusing on Out-of-School Children and Retention, Transition, and Completion Models in Bauchi, Gombe, and Adamawa states, the Chief of Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Tushar Rane, revealed these figures.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has expressed alarm over the rising number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, now reaching 18.3 million.
This concerning statistic places Nigeria at the top of the global list for the number of children not in school.
At a two-day Regional Stakeholders Engagement Meeting in Gombe, focusing on Out-of-School Children and Retention, Transition, and Completion Models in Bauchi, Gombe, and Adamawa states, the Chief of Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Tushar Rane, revealed these figures.
“Regrettably, this means Nigeria faces the significant challenge of the highest global count of out-of-school children,” said Dr. Rane.
Dr. Tushar expressed his concern about the downward trend, noting that merely 63% of children of primary school age are consistently attending school.
He also raised concerns about the growing dropout rates at the primary level for all genders, pointing out that just 84% of children move on to junior secondary education after finishing primary school.
He linked this issue to a range of causes, such as insufficient evidence-driven policies, constrained budgetary provisions, a lack of teachers and classrooms, substandard infrastructure, cultural practices, health and safety issues, and child labor.
In response to this issue, UNICEF is working in partnership with the Universal Basic Education Commission to formulate the “National Framework of Action to Reduce the Number of Out-of-School Children in Nigeria” and the “Retention, Transition, and Completion Model.”
UNICEF aims to devise strategies during the meeting to decrease the number of out-of-school children and to boost the retention, transition, and completion rates of adolescents in secondary education.
Dr. Rane anticipates that “following this meeting, we will establish precise, focused, and state-specific strategies that will contribute to reducing the out-of-school children rate and improving retention, transition, and completion.”
