UNICEF: 48% of Nigerian out-of-school girls in North East, North West

More than 50 per cent of girls in Nigeria are not attending school at the basic education level, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

This alarming statistic was revealed by Jutaro Sakamoto, the education manager at UNICEF, during an education conference organized by the French Institute in Nigeria in Abuja.

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Sakamoto highlighted that a staggering 7.6 million girls in Nigeria are currently out of school, with 3.9 million at the primary level and 3.7 million at the junior secondary level.

Shockingly, 48 per cent of these out-of-school girls are concentrated in the North West and North East regions of the country.

Furthermore, Sakamoto pointed out that gender parity in net attendance ratio falls below 1.0 in 10 states, primarily in the North, but it is improving in 15 other states.

Disturbingly, only 9 per cent of the poorest girls are able to attend secondary school, while a striking 81 per cent from the wealthiest quintile have access to secondary education.

Sakamoto emphasized the global significance of this issue, stating, “If we can’t address the situation in Nigeria, we can’t hope to solve the situation worldwide.”

He also noted that even those attending school are not receiving quality education due to a lack of facilities. UNICEF’s Education Opportunity for Out of School Children (OOSC) project has made some strides in addressing this critical issue.

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