Nigeria accounts for 12.4 per cent of the out-of-school children in Sub-Saharan Africa, says education minister Adamu Adamu.

Mr Adamu disclosed this on Thursday in Benin during activities to mark the Edo government’s 2023 ‘Education Week’.

“Our education challenge is an open secret; out of 258 million out-of-school children worldwide, an estimated 62 million are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria is said to account for 12.4 per cent of the out-of-school children in sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.

The minister said the 2018 National Personnel Audit estimated that 10.5 million children aged five to 14 were not in school, adding that the figure was worsened by the increased learning poverty caused by the closure of schools and non-return of children to school following the COVID-19 pandemic.

To ensure access to quality basic education for the Nigerian child, Mr Adamu said the June 12 presidential declaration on the enforcement of free and compulsory basic education for the first nine years of schooling underscored Nigeria’s commitment to achieving Universal Basic Education (UBE) as enshrined in the UBE Act of 2004.

He listed the strategic programmes to achieve the federal government commitment to include the Better Education Service Delivery (BESDA), Adolescent Girls’ Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), IDEAS Programme, and the Transforming Education Systems at State Level (TESS).

“Education is one of the most important investments a country can make in its future. It is a powerful agent of change which improves health, livelihoods, contributes to social stability and drives long-term economic growth,” Mr Adamu stated. “The return on investment in education is very high. Therefore, there must be no compromise on quality.”

He stressed that a major policy priority for the medium-term national development plan remains to improve access to quality education in the country.

The minister, however, commended the Edo government for improving the education sector and charged other states to follow suit.

(NAN)