The United Nations Childrens’ Fund (UNICEF) has said the number of out-of-school children of primary school age in the country is 10.2 million with 16 percent of the figure from the North West.
The Chief of UNICEF Field Office in Kano, Rahama Farah, disclosed this on Friday, while commemorating the 2025 International Day of Education in Kano.
He said based on the multiple indicator cluster survey report, 16 percent of this number are from Kano, Jigawa and Katsina States with 989, 234, 337, 861, 536,112 out-of-school children, respectively.
While expressing worry over the quality of education even among children who are fortunate to be enrolled in the states, he said the situation is further exacerbated by poor learning outcomes of low reading and numeracy skills.
“Only one out of four children in Nigeria, aged seven-14 years can read and understand a simple sentence or solve basic arithmetic, according to the multiple indicator cluster survey report.
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“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 percent or lower in the three states of Kano, Jigawa and Katsina,” he stated.
The UNICEF field officer however, noted that the fund in the last one year has helped to expand access to education for children from families, supported cash transfers for vulnerable families, improved infrastructural development and also partnered with communities, traditional leaders and decision makers on enrollment drives, among others to improve access.
He therefore, appealed to the state governors especially in the North West 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.
