PIC says there's learning deprivation rate for children in Nigeria

The Centre for Policy Innovation (PIC) an initiative of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has decried the high rate of learning deprivation for children in Nigeria.

According to the Deputy Director of the Center, Dr Osasuyi Dirisu, the learning deprivation rate for children in the country currently stands at 92 per cent.

Dirisu made this known during the interactive panel session on Eradicating Learning Deprivation at the 28th edition of the Nigerian Economic Summit on Tuesday, November 15, 2022.

She said the PIC realised the statistics from its recent research on learning deprivation in the six geopolitical zones of the country.

The Deputy Director of the Centre said poor infrastructure, poverty, and poor nutrition as some of the factors that contribute to learning deprivation for children in the country.

She said, “Sometimes, issues like the lack of infrastructure in the school, poor teacher competency and basic amenities such as toilets could also be responsible.

“Other drivers include poor nutrition, issues relating to communicable diseases and the negative belief system as some parents do not see the value of education.

“Probably because they were not educated themselves due to cultural or social norms within their context, some parents hardly see any need for school.”

How UNICEF is tackling the problem

Addressing journalists shortly after the event, Ms Cristian Munduate, Country Representative, UNICEF said the United Nations Children’s Fund is supporting the Federal and State Governments in different ways to improve basic education in Nigeria.

Explaining some of the programmes the fund has put in place to address the problem, Munduate said the fund is supporting schools at community level depending on their needs

She said, “We are rendering very comprehensive support, at the local level, at the community level, we are supporting different learning modalities according to the need of the community and geographical area, the type of assets that they need.

“So, in some areas, we are working on digital learning, in other areas we are working on the safe school area, meaning areas where insecurity is an issue, how we can enable an environment with children connecting to school in a safe manner.

“In other areas, we are working more on how to reach those children that are out of school, so we provide technical support, and training to give teachers materials. We did all of these with the Federal and State Governments because UNICEF is looking for universal coverage of education, so while we are doing some pilots in some communities, the challenges are huge, we are talking about more or less 12 million out-of-school children”.

FG’s perspective

Speaking on what it would take for Nigerian children to have quality education, Dr Hamid Bobboyi, Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) said all hands must be on deck in building a responsive system that would make a real difference in the education sector.

“For Nigeria to have quality education, we need to have the willingness and determination that would really make a difference in the education sector, and as I said, we should be able to mobilise the stakeholders in all the sectors that we have at the federal level, the NGOs, the press to ensure that we build a system that is responsive to a point that we can beat our chest and say yes, we have made efforts required to make a difference that can change the future of Nigeria”, he said.

On eradicating learning deprivation in the country, Bobboyi emphasised the need for state governments to prioritize education and ensure improved remuneration for teachers.