Nigeria wins world trophy, says World Bank and UNICEF
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nigeria has the world’s highest number of out of school children with 18.5 million, up from 11 million in 2020 and 15 million in 2003, according to separate figures compiled by the World Bank and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
UNICEF cited 10.5 million in 2021. The World Bank quoted 11 million in 2020, and said the total of number of both in-school and out-of-school (OOS) children between 6-15 years rose 100 per cent between 2003 and 2020.
Nigerian children aged 6-15 years in 2003 numbered 35 million, which rose to 51 million in 2020 – and the number of OOS children in 2003, which was 20 million, increased to 40 million in 2020, according to the World Bank.
“Although Nigeria has experienced a significant expansion in access to education during the last few decades, it still has the highest number of out-of-school (OOS) children in the world,” it added.
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OOS phenomenon multi-causal
“Nigeria’s more than 11 million OOS children between the ages of 6 and 15 represent 1 in 12 OOS children globally. The OOS children phenomenon in Nigeria is multi-causal and will require a combination of interventions.
“On the demand side, reducing the cost of education by eliminating school fees, providing cash transfers, and shifting socio-cultural norms that prevent school enrollment are critical steps,” the World Bank said, per reporting by Vanguard.
Statisense added that the number “represents 1 in 12 of all out-of-school children globally and 22% of all children in this age group are in Nigeria.”
Girls mostly affected
About 18.5 million children, the majority of whom are girls, do not have access to education in Nigeria, UNICEF disclosed in a report published by VOA on 12 May 2022, which put the figure at 10.5 million in 2021.
“Currently in Nigeria, there are 18.5 million out-of-school children, 60% of whom are girls,” Rahama Farah, the head of UNICEF office in Kano, told reporters.
The numerous attacks on schools by jihadists and criminal gangs in the North have particularly harmed children’s education, Farah said.
“These attacks have created a precarious learning environment, discouraged parents and guardians from sending their children to school,” he explained.
Since the 2014 Boko Haram abduction of 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in the North East, dozens of schools have been targeted in similar mass abductions.
1,500 students kidnapped in 2021
Last year, around 1,500 students were kidnapped by armed men, according to UNICEF. While most of the young hostages have since been released for ransom, some still remain in captivity in forests, where armed groups hide out.
In the predominantly Muslim North, Farah said, only one in four girls from “poor and rural families” completes middle school. Insecurity, he stressed, “emphasizes gender inequalities.”
Mass violence and kidnapping have forced the authorities to close more than 11,000 schools in Nigeria since December 2020, according to UNICEF.
The UN agency has since warned of an increase in reported cases of child marriage and early pregnancy.