Education System Facing Crisis in Kaduna Because of Insecurity, Says Gov Uba Sani

•UNICEF worries out-of-school children staggering in Nigeria

Segun Awofadeji in Gombe and John Shiklam in Kaduna

Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, has lamented that the educational system in the state was facing crisis as a result of increasing insecurity.

This was as the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has expressed worry over the staggering 10.2 million Primary school-age children and an additional 8.1 million at the Junior Secondary level that were out of school in Nigeria.

Speaking yesterday in Kaduna, at a capacity training programme organised by the Nigeria Police Force Schools Protection Squad, Sani said school enrolment in Kaduna has declined because insecurity.

He said in several local government areas, insecurity has forced school consolidation, further pushing up the number of out-of-school children.

The governor said incidents like the recent kidnapping of 135 students from the LEA Primary and Junior Secondary School, Kuriga, Chikun LGA, tragically illustrated the devastating impact of insecurity on access to education and safety in the state.

According to him, no nation could achieve its human capital development goals and make giant developmental strides if it failed to guarantee the safety and security of schools.

“Kaduna is one of the states that has been waging a sustained battle against banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and other forms of criminality.

“These non-state actors have disrupted socio-economic activities in the affected communities and are threatening our educational revitalisation programme.

“Kaduna State’s educational system is facing a crisis of declining enrolment, with over 200,000 fewer primary school pupils recorded in the 2022/2023 academic session compared to the previous year.

“This dramatic drop (from 2,111,969 in 2021/2022 to 1,734,704 in 2022/2023) is largely attributed to insecurity.

“In several local government areas, particularly Chikun, Birnin Gwari, Kajuru, Giwa, and Igabi, insecurity has forced school consolidation, further pushing up the number of out-of-school children.

“To ensure that the education of our children in conflicts-prone and terrorists-infested areas is not interrupted, we have commenced the merging of 359 schools with those in safe locations.

“We are also implementing our Safe School Programme to strengthen the security in our primary and secondary schools. We are collaborating with the Nigeria Police Force which is currently training a Schools Protection Squad (SPS)”

UNICEF Worries over Out-of-School Kids

United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has expressed worry over the staggering 10.2 million Primary school-age children and an additional 8.1 million at the Junior Secondary level that were out of school in Nigeria.

The disclosure was made yesterday by the Chief of Field Office, Bauchi UNICEF Field Office, Dr Tushar Rane in a Goodwill message at the opening of a  two-day Regional Stakeholders Engagement Meeting on the Out-of-School Children and the Retention, Transition and Completion Models in Bauchi, Gombe and Adamawa States at Emerald Hotel Hall, Gombe, Gombe State.          

His words: “Unfortunately, this positions Nigeria with the challenge of having the largest number of out-of-school children globally. Only 63 per cent of children of primary school age children regularly attend school.

“According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2021, only 84 per cent of children effectively transition to Junior Secondary Education after Primary School completion.

“Less than 50 percent – about 2.4 million – of the 5.9 million children who commence Primary Grade 1 annually in Nigeria persist to the conclusion of Junior Secondary Grade 3.”

The UNICEF CFO further said, “An analysis of the MICS reports between 2011 and 2021 shows an increase in dropout rates across all genders at the primary level especially in the northern part of the country. Specifically, the primary-level dropout rate rose from 1% in 2011 to 5% in 2021.

“A similar upward trend is noticeable when considering wealth quintiles. For students belonging to the poorest wealth quintile, the primary-level dropout rate increased from 2% in 2011 to 6% in 2021. Among students in the richest wealth quintile, the dropout rate also showed an increase, rising from 1% in 2011 to 4% in 2021,” he added.

In her remarks, Gombe State Commissioner of Education, Prof Aishatu Maigari said, “It is going to be very educative, very incisive and it is going to be a robust programme and policy that will be used to mop up the out-of-school children, to make sure they returned to school, to ensure that they stay in school.”