N’east has Least Adult Literacy Rate in Nigeria, Says CITAD

By Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has disclosed that the North-east region has the least adult literacy rate with all states in the geopolitical zone having lower than the national average rate.

The NGO made this disclosure Tuesday when it led a team, 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 an advocacy visit to the Bauchi State House of Assembly Committee on Education.

The leader of the team Isah Garba told the committee that the region has the worst education statistics, adding that Yobe and Borno States “have the lowest with 31.9 per cent and 35.1 per cent” male adult literacy rates respectively.

“The corresponding figures for female adult literacy are 14.9 and 18.0 per cents respectively for the two states. The performance of the states in both NECO and WAEC have been the lowest of the country,” Garba said.

“A survey showed that the percentage of children between six and 16 who have never attended school has high prevalence in the following states: Borno 72 per cent, Yobe 58 per cent and Bauchi 52 per cent. Only 20 per cent of all school age girls get to attend school,” he noted.

The NGO therefore recommended that the state increase its budgetary allocation to the education sector to 26 per cent to meet UNESCO’s recommendation in 2019, adding that the House of Assembly should ensure proper monitoring of disbursement of funds for efficient and effective utilisation.

Responding, the Chairman, House Committee on Education, Hon. Yusuf Inuwa Dadiye, hailed the organisation for its efforts, saying they help towards the development of education in the state.

He promised that the Assembly’s Committee on Education would sit and ponder on the recommendations as soon as possible.