The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, has said that Nigeria accounts for 12.4 per cent of the out-of-school children in sub-Saharan Africa.

Adamu who was represented by Mrs Olatunji Davis, Director of Basic Education, Federal Ministry of Education, stated this in Benin during the state 2023 Education Week with the theme, “Education for Alahgogaro: investing in quality education and access for our children and youth.”

He said, “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.”

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“Nigeria is said to account for 12.4 per cent of the out-of-school children in sub-Saharan Africa.”

The minister said that the 2018 National Personnel Audit estimated that 10.5 million children aged 5 to 14 were not in school, adding that the figures have been further exacerbated by the increased learning poverty caused by the closure of schools and non-return of children to school following the Global COVID-19 pandemic.

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

He added, “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.

“The return on investment in education is very high, therefore, there must be no compromise on quality.”

“A major policy priority for the Medium-Term National Development plan still remains to improve access to quality education in the country.