12/05/2026
A quick Google search will bring this otherwise terrible information but a glaring truth to your notice
Nigeria remains the country with the most out of school children globally
Not just in Africa, we are the top contenders in the global pandemic of lack of access to basic education
UNICEF Nigeria reports that one in every five of the world's out of school children is in Nigeria
The estimates indicate that over 10.5 million to 20 million children of ages 5-14 and 6-18 are not in school
This makes up to 20% of the world's out of school population
The many reasons for this saddening statistics include
The Government's continued negligence of the educational sector. It is a fact that Nigeria has never historically allocated more than 10% of its national budget to education which is far below the 26% recommended by the United Nations
Following closely after this is the insecure state of the nation. Violent groups frequently target schools and students especially in Northen Nigeria, and also conflicts in various communities and states have made school buildings abandoned and education forgone
We must also mention the Infrastructure issues, collapsing buildings or in some cases, no school buildings at all, outdated systems, very few teachers who are also not compensated appropriately
There is also the growing economic decline which has forced parents to withdraw their children and increased child labour
You must have seen a child hawking on the streets this morning
It's the effect of the disease that is eating us skin deep
This is the unhealthy reality of the country, Nigeria and
Actions have to be taken to bring a lasting solution to this problem
Share with us, what do you think about Nigeria's education pandemic and what actions can be taken for steady results?
