The revelation that 75 per cent of Nigerian children aged seven to 14 cannot read simple sentences or solve basic mathematics problems has again cast a sordid slur on the country’s educational system. In his remarks during the activities marking the 2023 International Day of Education, the Nigeria Representative of the UNICEF, Cristian Munduate, reminded leaders that many school-age children remained un-schooled. Complicit in this literacy and numeracy rot of young children are the federal and state governments. They need to get serious and re-strategise to rescue the crumbling education system.

Munduate emphasised the need for children to read in their first three years of learning, a requirement canvassed by experts across the world. “Early reading,” declares the School House Blog, “ignites creativity, sparks curiosity, and stimulates the imagination in young children.”

UNICEF’s appeal to the country and the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to invest in people, prioritise education, and “reduce the number of out-of-school children by providing safe, secure and violence-free learning environments both in formal and non-formal settings,” is particularly timely. This is because Nigeria now has 20 million out-of-school children, the world’s highest after India, according to UNESCO.

There is no justification whatsoever for the high rate of illiteracy and innumeracy among Nigerian children. It is poor governance at play once again, a sad commentary on the quality of Nigeria’s post-independence leadership. It is doubly ironic since the defunct Western Region is cited as the arguably first government in Africa to introduce a universal free primary education programme in 1955. That one in five out-of-school children in sub-Saharan Africa is a Nigerian, is therefore appalling for a country that introduced a national Universal Basic Education Programme in 1999 to provide free, compulsory basic education for every Nigerian child between the ages of six and 15. This replaced the Universal Primary Education programme introduced in 1976.

Though the UBE took off with much expectation, eventually giving rise to the Universal Basic Education Commission at the national level and replicated in each of the 36 states, implementation has been pathetic. Across the board, UBEC’s statutory guidelines have been flouted. Non-payment of counterpart funding, corruption, poor planning, and inadequate inspection have marred it. Like others before it, the programme has failed to deliver the targeted outcomes.

UNICEF’s findings are therefore not surprising. A UBEC report revealed that “for 2021, only eight states – Bauchi, Benue, Edo, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, Nasarawa and Taraba – lodged their counterpart funds up to the fourth quarter by paying N946.46 million each. Twenty-six states and the Federal Capital Territory have failed to access the sum of N33.6billion earmarked for basic education by UBEC.”

Besides lack of funding, poor infrastructure, inadequate equipment, lack of training, and shortage of qualified teachers, corruption also plays a role. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission in 2020 discovered that the N2.67 billion released for school feeding for the 104 Unity Colleges during the COVID-19 lockdown were diverted into private accounts. Laxity, malfeasance, and gross dereliction of duty on the part of the state governors and federal supervisory agencies and officials were at work.

According to the Macrotrends literacy rankings 2018, Nigeria ranked low among developing countries with a 62.02 percent literacy rate, alongside Sudan (60.70 percent) and Pakistan (57.01 per cent). Zambia (86.75 percent), Republic of Congo (80.30 percent), Ghana (79.04 percent), Cameroon (77.07 percent), were ahead of Nigeria in literacy levels. Other developing countries, such as the United Arab Emirates (98.13 percent), Qatar (93.46 percent), Kuwait (96.46 percent) and Brazil (94.30 percent), also surpass Nigeria.

However, Global Data reported that Nigeria’s literacy rate improved to 77.62 per cent in 2021. This improvement still reflects a shortfall in Nigeria’s literacy potential in the 21st century.

The government’s inability to tackle insurgency, kidnappings and other crimes has also greatly undermined learning and child development. Between 2009 and 2022, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria said 2,295 teachers were killed by Islamic terrorists in the North-East, 19,000 others were displaced, while 1,500 schools had been closed or destroyed. More than 600,000 children had consequently lost access to education.

The United States Institute of Peace adds, “The erosion of education for a generation of schoolchildren in the North will reduce their abilities to earn a living and bring skills to the reconstruction of their communities. It will increase their risk of being radicalised amid the region’s conflicts.”

The educational system therefore needs a complete overhaul with effective enforcement of laws. Priority should be given to workable strategies to end insecurity and the mass abduction of students. Insecurity has festered for so long because of the government’s lack of political will. Buhari needs to show greater commitment to protecting the lives and property of Nigerians.

The governors too, as the constitutionally designated chief security officers of their states, should establish, adequately fund, and equip state and regional security organisations. They should encourage and closely regulate community and local vigilance groups in collaboration with federal law enforcement agencies to secure the country’s vast hinterland.

Education funding at the federal, state, and local level requires a quantum leap. The meagre increase from 7.9 per cent in 2022 federal budget to 8.8 per cent in 2023 is inadequate to salvage the educational system and achieve the global agenda for universal, inclusive, and equitable basic education for all school-age children by 2030.

The recent finding by the TRCN that more than 50 per cent of those currently teaching in primary and secondary schools nationwide are not qualified should propel the government to ensure merit and recruit skilled and committed teachers.

There should be periodic evaluation of teachers’ competency by the regulatory agencies, and an end to the recruitment of incompetent teachers. Teachers should be well-remunerated to attract capable hands and produce competent and productive children for the challenges of the 21st century.

Coupled with the provision of infrastructure and amenities, probity must guide the disbursement of funds and corruption rooted out of the system.

Update news