Nigeria (common Wealth) _ The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund is anticipated to create a model to address the out-of-school crisis in Nigeria by 2027.
The number of children not in school as of May 2023 cannot be formally verified by our correspondent at the time the report is filed, but a UNESCO report from 2022 claimed that there are currently about 20 million such children in Nigeria.
However, according to the Nigerian government, the proportion of children not in school in all of sub-Saharan Africa is only 12.4%. However, experts pointed out that although UNESCO’s data were based on out-of-school children between the ages of 6 and 18, the Federal Government only paid attention to those in that age range of 6–11 years, which accounts for the statistical discrepancy between the data provided by UNESCO and the government.
The UN agency stated in a country development program for 2023–2027 that it will create a sustainable approach to address the out-of-school threat. This document was provided by UNICEF and received by our correspondent.
In the section devoted to education, it was stated that “10 million children access formal or non-formal education; 4.8 million children access learning materials; 21 states scale up foundational literacy and numeracy; 22 states use an integrated data system for sector planning; and 12 states have improved adequacy, efficiency, and equity in education financing.”
While five million kids continued their education throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF’s communications specialist Geoffrey Njoku noted during a media dialogue for journalists that the organization has supported the enrollment of 1.5 million girls in schools nationwide over the past five years using a new evidence-based approach.
Njoku also bemoaned Nigeria’s 139th place out of 15 nations in the Gender Index Gap, stating that the nation’s numerous underachieving youngsters necessitated all hands on deck to address.
