Education Minister, Adamu, disagrees with UNICEF, says Nigeria has 8m out-of-school children

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu has disagreed with the United Nations Children Emergency Fund’s (UNICEF) figure of over 20 million out of school children it recorded in Nigeria in its last report released during the week.

Adamu, who disclosed this on Thursday in Benin, Edo State, while giving a keynote address at an event to mark the State’s 2023 ‘Education Week’, said though Nigeria accounts for 12.4 per cent of the out-of-school children in Sub-Saharan Africa, he argued that the number is not as much as the one given out by the UN agency.

“Our education challenge is an open secret; out of 258 million out-of-school children worldwide, an estimated 62 million are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria accounts for 8 million which is 12.4 per cent of the out-of-school children in sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.

The Minister added that the 2018 National Personnel Audit estimated that 10.5 million children aged five to 14 were not in school, with the figure getting worsened by the increased learning poverty caused by the closure of schools and non-return of children to school following the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“To ensure access to quality basic education for the Nigerian child, the June 12 presidential declaration on the enforcement of free and compulsory basic education for the first nine years of schooling underscored Nigeria’s commitment to achieving Universal Basic Education (UBE) as enshrined in the UBE Act of 2004,” Adamu said.

“Education is one of the most important investments a country can make in its future. It is a powerful agent of change which improves health, livelihoods, contributes to social stability and drives long-term economic growth.

“The return on investment in education is very high. Therefore, there must be no compromise on quality,” he added.

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