75% of children in Nigeria can’t read or solve mathematics – UNICEF

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday lamented that 75 percent of the children in Nigeria cannot read or solve basic mathematics problems.

The UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Cristian Munduate, stated this in a statement marking this year’s International Day of Education.

The affected children, according to him, are between the ages of seven and 14 years.

The UNICEF official urged the Federal Government to give more priority attention to education in the country.

He also challenged the presidential candidates to include investments in education as one of their cardinal programmes ahead of this year’s elections.

READ ALSO: Out-of-school children in Nigeria now 18.3m – UNICEF

Munduate said: “On this International Day of Education, I join the global call to ‘invest in people, prioritise education, and deliver on the commitments made by President Muhammadu Buhari at the UN Secretary General’s Transforming Education Summit in September 2022 to end the global learning crisis.

“In Nigeria, 75 percent of children aged 7 to 14 years cannot read a simple sentence or solve a basic mathematics problem. For children to be able to read or learn, they must be able to learn to read in the first three years of schooling.

“As Nigeria’s presidential elections draw near, on behalf of UNICEF and the children in Nigeria, I call on all presidential candidates to include adequate investments in education as a top priority in their manifestos.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now