Globally, every 24th day of January is celebrated as the International Day for Education. It is a day set aside by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018, to celebrate the role education plays in peace and development of nations.
Before delving into topical issues of this article, it is apt to state that the main objective of education in modern society is mainly to equip the young with sufficient literacy, numeracy and basic knowledge that is necessary and sufficient for participating in the complexities of today’s industry and society.
This will enable our children to be useful to themselves and the larger society when they attain adulthood. Educating the young is in response to conditions of present day life where skills that are pro-industry are in short supply.
Some security experts and analysts have argued strongly that the increasing number of out-of-school children is a threat to national security
Therefore, the exigencies of the society as we write, impose restrictions on public education to produce young adults capable of taking an active and successful part in social and economic spheres of the country.
Globally, nearly a third of all children of primary school age are not enrolled in school, according to AC Grayling in his book titled The Ideas That Matter- The Concepts that Shape the 21st Century.
The same book revealed that the proportion of those deprived of a chance of education rises steeply through the age groups for secondary and tertiary education.
This confirms what most analysts have observed that as few children grow in age, they fall out of school in many developing countries.
One could visibly see a waste of talent and opportunity when young children drop out of school. Because some of those young children who drop out of school for whatever reasons are destined for greatness.
There is no doubt that education is at the heart of the individual, and national development. Quality education is one of the pillars of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030.
Education eradicates poverty, promotes gender equality, encourages innovation and it is a critical factor in developing the nation’s human capital amongst others.
If anyone thinks education is expensive, that person is advised to look at the cost of ignorance. The cost of ignorance to a nation is that its uneducated people will be spectators in global affairs.
Recently, there have been several calls by public intellectuals and experts to find ways and means of tackling the surge of out-of-school children in view of the nation’s rising population.
Some security experts and analysts have argued strongly that the increasing number of out-of-school children is a threat to national security.
In fact, it was widely reported in news papers that a former president of Nigeria, predicted that the 14 million out-of-school children might become recruits of some terrorist groups or become rogue elements in the nearest future.
We do not want this prediction to be a reality, say within the next 10 years to 20 years. That is why efforts must be intensified by patriotic Nigerians to ensure that the out-of-school children must be back in school.
One may argue that if everyone is educated who will be a servant? For those who are destined to be servants, they would be regarded as educated servants in our society if they are given the opportunity to be educated. But who are the out-of-school children and how many are they in the country?
According to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the out-of-school children are those children of primary school age who are not attending school. To the United Nations, out-of-school children are “those kids who are yet to be enrolled in any formal education excluding pre-primary education.” The age range for out-of-school children is 6-11 years, according to the UN.
The right to education is a fundamental right of every child. The stark reality today is that 258 million children and youths do not attend any school; 617 million children and adolescents cannot read and do basic mathematics; less than 40 percent of girls in sub-Saharan Africa complete lower secondary school and 4 million children and youth refugees are out of school, according to a UNESCO Report released in 2022. By implication, the right of many children globally is being violated. Some of the out-of-school children are on the streets because their parents cannot afford to pay school fees.
In the same UNESCO Report, only 61 percent of children of school age attend school in Nigeria and the percentage is lower in the North. The situation is worse for the female child in the North of the country where only 40 percent are registered in school. The number of unschooled children keeps increasing at secondary and tertiary levels.
While it is acknowledged that Nigeria is doing its utmost best to ensure that children who are selling cheap goods on the streets are back in school, those in authority are bothered that the country has the highest number of out-of-school children in sub-Saharan Africa. But no one knows the exact number of these children who are not in school. While the Federal Ministry of Education believes that there are 10,193,918 children out-of-school, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) was recently reported by the media to have stated that there are 13.2 million out-of-school children in Nigeria. The 2017 Multiple Indicator Health Survey (MICS) which was conducted by the NBS and other organizations gave a total of 9.1 million children as out-of-school. This is an indication that we do not know the number of children that are out-of-school in Nigeria. The reason for these disparities in figures is due to our inability to know our population. We need to know our population as its control, according to a study, is essential to reach sustainable reduction in poverty and out-of-school children.
Besides the population and out-of-school children issues, the quality of education and teachers are also areas of concern. A few analysts would like to know if education courses are not for students who could not meet cut-off marks for their preferred courses in the JAMB examinations? Or are education courses offered in colleges of education and universities those that attract the brightest and best? The quality of teachers who are engaging the children in their studies is very key. These challenges include poor infrastructure and in-conducive learning environment. We must appreciate and acknowledge the efforts of private individuals and organizations that are involved in improving the quality of education in Nigeria. Many NGOs provide scholarship programs which covers school fees and placing students in schools.
The study of science, mathematics and engineering will enable our children to face the world of work, the same goes for history and literature. The former will certainly equip our children to be pro-industry in an era of 4th industrial revolution. While the latter will address personal, social and political demands of the society. Please, permit me to conclude this article by drawing inspiration from a piece on a leadership and character platform on a social media platform: “No one should write off any child. No child must be left behind is a battle cry among apostles of education.” Individuals, organizations and governments should continue to do what is humanly possible on a sustainable basis to get millions of children out of the streets. Thank you.
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