10.2m Children Out Of School In Nigeria – UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said the number-of-out of school children at primary school level in Nigeria has reached  10.2 million with 16 percent from the North West.

The Chief of UNICEF Field Office Kano, Rahama Farah, disclosed this yesterday while commemorating the 2025 International Day of Education (IDE) in Kano.

He said based on the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 2021) report, 16 percent of this number are from Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states.

While expressing concern over the quality of education even among children who are fortunate to be enrolled in the states, he said the situation was further exacerbated by poor learning outcomes of low reading and numeracy skills.

“Only one out of four children in Nigeria aged 7-14 years can read and understand a simple sentence or solve basic arithmetic, according to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 2021) report.

“Across Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states, this challenge is staggering: Tests conducted by the Federal Ministry of Education in 2022 found that Foundational Learning rates stand at 11 per cent or lower in the three states of Kano, Jigawa and Katsina.”

The UNICEF field officer however noted that the fund in the last one year had helped to expand access to education for children from families, supported cash transfers for vulnerable families, improved infrastructure development and also partnered with communities, traditional leaders and decision makers on enrollment drives among others to improve access.

He appealed to state governors especially in the Northwest to ensure the release and spending of appropriated funds in the education sector to address barriers that hinder children from attending school in order to approve access.