10m Nigerian Children Outside Early Childhood Education — UBEC

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has raised the alarm over the exclusion of about 10 million Nigerian children from early childhood care, development and education (ECCDE).

The commission warned that the situation could be contributing to poor learning outcomes among children across the country.

The Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Aisha Garba, disclosed this while addressing participants at a three-day capacity-building workshop for state actors on the utilisation of the ECCDE Minimum Standards, Implementation Guidelines and UNICEF Parental and Community Engagement documents in Abuja.

Garba, who was represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical) of UBEC, Rasaq Olajuwon Akinyemi, said only 35.6 per cent of Nigerian children aged between 36 and 59 months currently attend any form of early childhood education.

She said the situation was further compounded by developmental delays among young children.

According to her, an analysis of the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey showed that about 46 per cent of children aged 24 to 59 months were developmentally off track.

Garba said the consequences of inadequate early childhood education become more pronounced as children progress through the school system.

“Only 35.6 per cent of Nigerian children aged 36 to 59 months attend any form of early childhood education. That leaves roughly 10 million of our youngest children outside ECCDE altogether,” she said.

She added that about 70 per cent of Nigerian 10-year-olds could not read and understand a simple text.

Garba also disclosed that only about 2.4 million of the 5.9 million children who enter primary school each year remain in the education system at the end of junior secondary school.

She therefore called for early childhood development to be treated as an integrated national priority rather than as a stand-alone education programme.