11.5 million Nigerian children out of school, says Minister of Education
Only an estimated 63 million Nigerians are literate, according to the minister.
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He disclosed this in a meeting with journalists in Abuja on Monday, September 25, 2017, noting that the country's literate population is estimated to be around 63 million people.
He said, "In the modern world of today, illiteracy remains a big social and cultural problem which can also hinder the economic development of the society.
"Worldwide, 750 million adults still lack even the most basic literacy skills. Also, some 264 million children and youths are not benefiting from education.
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"In Nigeria, different official estimates put youth and adult literacy level at about 63 million. It is also estimated that over 11.5 million children are out of school. A large share of children who are in school are not attaining the learning outcome benchmarks.
"The security, stability and prosperity of Nigeria depend, to a large extent, on her ability to provide functional education to all citizens. To address this challenge, strong measures are being developed to revitalise the non-formal education sector."
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The minister promised that the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration to fix the problem are expected to properly restore the nation's education sector.
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