Nigeria’s Out-of-School Crisis: UNICEF Calls for Increased Funding, Data-driven Advocacy

Funmi Ogundare

Education specialist at UNICEF’s Abuja Office, Azuka Menkiti, yesterday, appealed to education stakeholders to ensure adequate funding, particularly for secondary education, and to develop reliable data to advocate for support from state governors and donor agencies.

Menkiti made this call at a two-day regional stakeholders’ meeting focusing on out-of-school children, as well as retention, transition, and completion models for South West states, held at Kankanfo Hotel, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Speaking with journalists, she emphasised the need for states to leverage community and religious leaders to address social norms that prevent children from attending school.

She highlighted that both direct and indirect factors hinder the demand for secondary education and stressed the importance of scaling up foundational literacy and numeracy programmes.

“This would ensure that children entering school are prepared to learn, supported by systems that foster a conducive learning environment,” she stated

Menkiti noted that the program aims to help states develop effective models to enhance retention, transition, and completion rates in secondary education. This initiative builds on a decade-long intervention focused on girls’ education, which has successfully increased school attendance for girls.

Her words: “Out-of-school children include those who have never enrolled, those unlikely to enroll, and those who have dropped out. UNICEF is particularly concerned with those at risk of dropping out, especially in southwest states with high school attendance rates.”

The education specialist emphasised the importance of addressing retention, transition, and completion issues for adolescents aged 10 to 18 years. She added that commissioners, SUBEB chairmen, and permanent secretaries from the southwest would review the models to determine their suitability for their respective states.

“UNICEF aims to strengthen educational systems, expand access, and improve quality learning opportunities for adolescents,” Menkiti said, adding that there is need for credible evidence to advocate support and encourage states develop plans and policies that will support children’s education.

Babagana Aminu, another education specialist for UNICEF, highlighted a troubling statistic from a Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), indicating that nearly 80 per cent of children in the six southwest states of Nigeria are out of school.

This issue, he noted, is tied to challenges in retention, transition, and completion rates, observing that, “Specifically, the data reveals that while 92% of children complete primary school, only 85% make it to upper secondary education, suggesting a significant drop-off.”

Aminu emphasised the need for government and education stakeholders to focus on improving foundational literacy, numeracy, and transferable skills to better prepare children for the modern world.

Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Saliu Adelabu, expressed concerns about the influx of young children into the state. He mentioned that the Ministry of the Environment is working on integrating them into schools or vocational training.

Hamzat Omolaja, Director of Social Mobilization at Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB), expressed optimism about the meeting’s impact on addressing out-of-school children.

He highlighted the board’s commitment to ensuring every child has access to education through initiatives like ‘Leave No Child Behind’ and ‘Project 0’, which aims for zero tolerance of out-of-school children.