The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said that 7.6 million girls are out of school in Nigeria.
In primary and junior secondary schools, 3.9 million and 3.7 million are missing, respectively.
Education Manager at UNICEF, Jutaro Sakamoto, who stated this in Abuja at an education conference organised by the French Institute in Nigeria, said 48 per cent of the girls were in the North West and North East.
While stressing that Nigeria accounted for 15 per cent of out-of-school children globally, he said only nine per cent of the poorest girls in Nigeria were in secondary school.
The official said if the out-of-school children crisis was not addressed in Nigeria, the world would never overcome it.
The ICIR reports that in the last decade, insecurity crises, from kidnapping to communal clashes and terrorist attacks, especially in the North, have displaced several families and halted education activities in the affected communities.
In 2020, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said Nigeria had 20 million out-of-school children.
Nigeria, according to the data, was one of the three countries accounting for the highest number of children not enrolled in school globally
However, The ICIR reported how the World Bank issued a $700 million loan to boost adolescent girls learning and empowerment. The loan is expected to accommodate more out-of-school children under the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment programme.
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold the government into account. Shoot him a mail at [email protected] or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames
