The Centre for Information Technology And Development (CITAD) has lamented that North East has the worst education statistics in Nigeria.
It added that Yobe and Borno states “have the lowest with 31.9 percent and 35.1 percent” male adult literacy rates, respectively.
CITAD Senior Programme Cordinator States, Isah Garba, disclosed this on Monday when he led the team of the North East Social Accountability In Education Cluster, a project supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) which is being anchored by CITAD, on a visit to Bauchi State House of Assembly Committee on Education.
According to him, “the region had the worst education statistics leaving Yobe and Borno states with lowest that have 31.9 percent and 35.1 percent male adult literacy rates, respectively.
“The corresponding figures for female adult literacy are 14.9 and 18.0 percent, respectively, for the two states. The performance of the states in both NECO and WAEC have been the lowest in the country.
“A survey showed that percentage of children between six and 16 who have never attended school has high prevalence in the following states: Borno 72 percent, Yobe 58 percent and Bauchi 52 percent. Only 20 percent of all school age girls get to attend school”.
The CITAD chief however urged the state government to increase its budgetary allocation to education sector to 26 percent to meet UNESCO’s recommendation in 2019.
He also enjoined the House of Assembly to ensure proper monitoring of disbursement for efficient and effective utilization.
Responding, the Chairman, House Committee on Education, Hon Yusuf Inuwa Dadiye, commended the CITAD for its efforts towards the development of education in the state.
He assured that the committee on education would sit and ponder on the recommendations as soon as possible.