Education

Tackling Nigeria’s Out-of-School Children Menace

Published

4 years ago

26/06/2021

By Jerome-Mario Utomi

As both the federal and state governments in Nigeria continue to allow the rate of out-of-school children, especially in the northern part of Nigeria, to swell in number, even when it is obvious that the streets are known for breeding all forms of criminals and other social misfits who constitute the real threat in the forms of armed robbers; thugs, drunkards, prostitutes and all other social ills that give a bad name to the society, Nigerians are beginning to view government’s approach to the challenge as not yielding the targeted result.

The latest of such worry came from Kogi State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Wemi Jones, who recently during a 2-day North-Central Zonal Meeting on Draft Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP), held in Lokoja, called on stakeholders in the sector to find a lasting solution to the problem.

While lamenting that out of the 17 states in the country with the highest number of out-of-school children, 14 of the states are in the north, Jones said if the rate of out-of-school children can be curtailed, it would help check the insecurity that is currently bedevilling parts of the country, and would to a large extend signal goodbye to insecurity threats across the country.

Though he said it in a different way, venue and time, in the real sense of it, Mr Commissioner may not have said something new or different from what Nigerians have been worried about all these years.

To prove how successive administrations in the country have done very little in arresting the situation, a particular report in 2013, described as mind-numbing the awareness that about 10.5 million Nigerian children of school age are not enrolled in schools. Out of this number, the report explained that about 9 million are children of beggars, fishermen and other less privileged people in the society.

Again, in 2018, a UNICEF survey showed that the population of out-of-school children in Nigeria had risen from 10.5 million to 13.2 million, the highest in the world.

The UNICEF survey says something else; there is still a huge number of those who are in school but are learning nothing, noting that schooling does not always lead to learning. In Nigeria, there are more non-learners in school than out of school, it concluded.

Indeed, going by the facts below, UNICEF in my views may not be wrong in its postulation.

With the nation’s current population of over 195.9 million, 45 per cent of which are below 15 years, there is a huge demand for learning opportunities translating into increased enrolment. This has created challenges in ensuring quality education since resources are spread more thinly, resulting in more than 100 pupils for one teacher as against the UNESCO benchmark of 35 students per teacher and culminating in students learning under trees for lack of classrooms.

Basically, there exist in my opinion about three major troubling realities that characterize the situation as a crisis.

First is the awareness that Nigeria is not in short supply of policy measures and laws to ensure that no child is left behind in education. Yet, the number keeps swelling each year.

As argued elsewhere, there is free and compulsory primary and junior secondary education to cater for children aged five to 14 years.

To explain this point, the Universal Basic Education Act 2004 is the legal framework that provides for compulsory, free and universal basic education of all children of primary and junior secondary school age in the country. There is also the Child Rights Act, which reinforces this as a basic human right by prescribing schooling up to junior secondary school.

UBEC intervention funds, as we know, are focused on collaboration with other state actors towards improving access to basic education and reducing Nigeria’s out-of-school children.

The budgetary allocation for education for example in 2020 is N671.07 billion constituting 6.7 per cent. Of the N671.07 billion allocated to the Federal Ministry of Education, the sum includes the statutory transfer allocated to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), which is N111.79 billion. Yet, most of the states cannot draw from this fund as a result of their (states) inability to provide the counterpart funding.

So what benefits is the fund?

It was such encumbrance I presume that recently prompted the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, to call on the federal government to remove counterpart funding as part of basic requirements for states to access the federal government funding of UBEC.

The second factor fuelling the out-of-school challenge in Nigeria stems from the awareness that despite the universal declaration of education as a fundamental human right for everyone and this right was further detailed in the convention against discrimination in education, Nigerian governments, particularly the northern governors, failed to turn more of their energies in, or focus their creativity on the useful things that will translate to the empowerment of the people.

They made policies that view education as very narrow and restricted.

Presently, what the region and Nigeria by extension need is a restless determination to make the idle of governance a reality.

At this critical point of our nationhood, the northern governors must do this work-and in doing the work, stimulate their people particularly the youths to learn and acquire higher levels of skills and techniques for economic independence.

There are certain technical steps that must be taken.

First, it is time to recognize that any region desirous of securing the future of its people must invest in education. This is more urgent in the north where it is agreed that historical underdevelopment in Western education is responsible, more than the diversity in religious loyalties, for the social imbalance between the region and the south.

Similarly, the hour has come for the governors from the region to adopt and support the 2030 sustainable agenda- a United Nation initiative and successor programme to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)- with a collection of 17 global goals formulated among other aims to promote and cater for people, peace, planet, and poverty.

And has at its centre; partnership and collaboration, ecosystem thinking, co-creation and alignment of various intervention efforts by the public and private sectors and civil society.

The reason for this assertion is barefaced.

A few years ago, it was reported that Mathew Hassan Kukah- a well-informed, self-contained and quietly influential Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto had during a four-day workshop tagged Interfaith Dialogue and Engagement for Christians and Muslims in Minna, Niger State that the Kukah Centre (TKC), promised to introduce skill acquisition centres in the northern part of the country where about 10 million Almajiri children will acquire vocations of their choice.

For sure, with the slow economic but high population growth in Nigeria particularly in the north, such a programme would have been an effective tool for fighting unemployment and consolidating economic growth. But for yet to be identified reason(s), no governor from the north bought into that opening provided or encouraged their youth to access such opportunity.

Regardless of what others may say, it is in the interest of the government to educate its people on different skills that create jobs for the youths as a formidable way of curbing crime and reducing threatening insecurity in the country.

It should be done not merely for political consideration but from the views of national development and sustenance of our democracy and the best place to start from should be a deliberate effort to drastically reduce the number of our school children.

When this is achieved, it will in turn bring about sustained peace; result in improved hygiene and medical care, greater educational opportunities. State governments are hereby enjoined by this piece to embark on aggressive education of their people, ensuring its compulsion to a certain level.

To catalyse this process, a shift in action is important as ‘we cannot solve our socio-economic challenges with the same thinking we used when we created it.

The governors need to bring a change in the leadership paradigm by switching over to a leadership style that is capable of making successful decisions built on a higher quality of information.

Jerome-Mario Utomi is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos. He could be reached via [email protected]/08032725374.

Education

Ekiti State University Gets Full Accreditation for Law, Geology, 16 Others

Published

1 day ago

21/05/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Students intending to study Law, Geology, Computer Engineering and others at the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti, can do so now without hassle because the National Universities Commission (NUC) has granted full accreditation to 18 academic programmes offered by the school.

The regulator granted the higher institution of learning the full accreditation after its October/November 2024 accreditation exercise.

Confirming this development, the Deputy Registrar and Head of the Directorate of Information and Corporate Affairs of EKSU, Mr Bode Olofinmuagun, described this as another major academic milestone for the school.

He said the NUC confirmed the accreditation in a letter dated April 30, 2025, and signed by its acting Director of Accreditation, Mr Abraham Chundusu, on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the NUC, Mr Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, addressed to the Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Professor Joseph Babatola Ayodele.

The newly accredited programmes cut across six faculties, reaffirming EKSU’s commitment to academic excellence and its strategic focus on expanding access to quality education in critical fields.

The accredited programmes include M.Sc. Business Administration, Master of Personnel Management, M.Sc. Finance, Master of Public Administration, Master of Business Administration (all in the Faculty of Administration), Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies, and Philosophy (in the Faculty of Arts).

Others are Building and Woodwork Technology Education, Electrical and Electronic Technology Education, Metal and Auto Mechanic Technology Education, Education Christian Religious Studies (in the Faculty of Education), Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering (in the Faculty of Engineering), Law (in the Faculty of Law), Geology (in the Faculty of Sciences), and Psychology (in the Faculty of Social Sciences).

“This achievement underscores our continued commitment to delivering globally competitive education and producing graduates who are equipped to solve contemporary challenges.

“We are more prepared than ever to meet the educational needs of Nigerian youth in relevant and future-facing disciplines,” the VC of EKSU stated, thanking Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State and others for their pivotal roles in the advancement of the school.

Education

A Manifesto for Empowerment and Action: A Review of Smash The Glass Ceiling by Olamitayo Irantiola

Published

7 days ago

16/05/2025

Business Post Contributor

Title: Smash The Glass Ceiling: Empowering African Women to Break Barriers and Achieve their Dreams

Author: Olamitayo Ebunola Irantiola

Pagination: 244 pages

Publisher: Peo Davies Communications

Year of Publication: 2025

Reviewer: Dr Kehinde Olubanjo

Smash the Glass Ceiling is a powerful manifesto for women striving to break free from deeply rooted societal, cultural, and religious barriers. In this insightful and audacious work, Olamitayo Irantiola blends personal experiences, historical references, and academic insight to confront and unravel the multifaceted forms of gender discrimination that persist across society, especially in leadership roles within African contexts.

Irantiola’s message is unmistakably clear from the first page: women are not second-class citizens. They are not afterthoughts. They are leaders, changemakers, visionaries. This short but potent book dares to challenge stereotypes, dismantle myths surrounding women’s capabilities, and inspire women to assert their rightful place in every sphere of influence – from the home to the church, to the highest levels of governance.

Each chapter of the book acts like a stage of awakening, encouraging readers to progress from awareness to courage, and then from courage to action. She draws attention to the subtle and overt ways women are marginalized – ways that often go unnoticed because they have been normalized for generations. From being passed over for leadership roles to being discouraged from expressing ambition, women are often taught to play small. Irantiola offers a powerful counter-narrative: women must rise, lead, and thrive in spaces where they have historically been excluded.

In one of the book’s standout moments, Irantiola writes, “You are not weak; you are a woman.” This punchy, affirming language defines the book’s tone. Each page is laden with declarations – some poetic, others prophetic – that stir the soul. She encourages women to reject self-doubt, embrace their full identity, and stop apologizing for taking up space.

Importantly, Irantiola doesn’t merely point out the problem – she proposes solutions. With practical steps and motivational insights, the book offers strategies for breaking mental, emotional, and institutional barriers. It advocates for women’s inclusion in pastoral leadership, political participation, business, and beyond. In doing so, it transcends personal empowerment and becomes a broader call to collective social change.

One of the most refreshing aspects of Smash the Glass Ceiling is its grounding in spirituality without being dogmatic. While addressing faith-based environments, particularly the church, Irantiola boldly questions the exclusion of women from pulpits and leadership boards. She reimagines a faith community that embraces both sons and daughters as vessels of power and wisdom. This makes the book particularly relevant for African women, many of whom navigate a complex intersection of faith, tradition, and ambition.

While the work is largely declarative and poetic, it does not lack substance. Irantiola’s reflections are undergirded by historical awareness and cultural critique. She is not just cheerleading; she is diagnosing societal patterns and prescribing remedies. She challenges patriarchal systems that tokenize women rather than fully include them and warns against superficial feminism that neglects structural change.

In terms of literary style, Irantiola’s voice is clear, bold, and at times lyrical. She does not shy away from repetition, using it as a rhetorical tool to drive her points home. Her cadence often mimics spoken word poetry, making the book ideal for live readings, workshops, or empowerment seminars. You can imagine a roomful of women nodding, snapping, or even standing to their feet as the words resonate deeply with their lived experiences.

Another strength of the book lies in its inclusivity. Irantiola does not speak only to women in high offices or elite circles. Her message embraces all women – students, homemakers, entrepreneurs, clerics, and professionals. It speaks to the young girl silenced in the classroom, the woman whose ambition is mocked, and the leader whose voice is constantly questioned. To all these women, she says: your presence is valid, your dreams are possible, your ceiling is meant to be shattered.

Smash the Glass Ceiling is also a valuable resource for mentors, educators, and gender equality advocates. It provides language that can be used to inspire, empower, and equip others. For men, too, it is a compelling read – one that invites introspection and partnership in dismantling systems that restrict and oppress. By the time the reader reaches the final chapter, the voice becomes even more urgent, more prophetic. It is as though the author is passing a torch, saying: “You have read the words; now embody them. Let this book not be a bookshelf decoration but a battle cry.”

What ultimately makes Smash the Glass Ceiling unique and impactful is not just its content but its conviction. It is not a passive commentary on gender roles; it is a full-throated declaration of purpose and power. It says that the time for waiting is over. That the barriers must fall. That women should not only be invited to the table but also empowered to lead it or build a better one.

In a world still grappling with inequality, erasure, and gendered expectations, this book is timely. It is more than a motivational manual – it is a manifesto. And in the hands of the right reader, it is not just a book, it is a sledgehammer!

About the Reviewer

Kehinde Olubanjo is a postdoctoral research fellow at the National Cancer Institute – National Institutes of Health (NCI-NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America. He contributes to clinical pharmacology studies by analyzing cancer drugs and determining their pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. He earned his PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Arkansas, with a research focus on microdialysis – a powerful technique for studying drug distribution in biological systems. His expertise bridges drug analysis, bioanalytical method development, and the broader intersection of chemistry, public health, and translational medicine. Beyond the lab, Kehinde is passionate about science communication and exploring how research can drive health equity and societal impact.

Education

JAMB Registrar Ishaq Oloyede Admits Error in 2025 UTME Results

Published

1 week ago

14/05/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Mr Ishaq Oloyede, has admitted to errors from the examination body leading to mass failure during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

“What should have been a moment of joy has changed due to one or two errors,” Mr Oloyede said during an ongoing press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.

The 2025 UTME, one of the first two exams towards tertiary institution admission in Nigeria, recorded a high rate of low marks as over 1.5 million of the 1.9 million candidates reportedly scored below 200 out of the maximum 400 marks.

Giving a breakdown, JAMB said a total of 1,955,069 results were processed, out of which only 4,756 candidates (0.24 per cent) scored 320 and above, considered top-tier performance, while 7,658 candidates (0.39 per cent) scored between 300 and 319, bringing the total for those who scored 300 and above to 12,414 candidates (0.63 per cent).

Also, 73,441 candidates (3.76 per cent) scored between 250 and 299 while 334,560 candidates (17.11 per cent) scored between 200 and 249.

A total of 983,187 candidates (50.29 per cent) scored between 160 and 199, which is widely regarded as the minimum threshold for admissions in many institutions.

In the same vein, 488,197 candidates (24.97 per cent) scored between 140 and 159, 57,419 candidates (2.94 per cent) scored between 120 and 139, 3,820 candidates (0.20 per cent) scored between 100 and 119, and 2,031 candidates (0.10 per cent) scored below 100.

Over 75 per cent of all candidates (1.5 million) scored below 200, average score seeing as the examination is graded over 400.

The high failure rate led to worries with JAMB ordering an immediate review of the results. This will be carried on Thursday, May 15.

The review meeting would bring together vice-chancellors, provosts, rectors, school principals, examiners, and technical experts to scrutinise the examination process and address the widespread dissatisfaction expressed by candidates and stakeholders.

It was also reported that thousands of candidates are preparing to file a class-action lawsuit against the Board over the alleged irregularities that led to mass failure.

In his reaction, the Minister of Education, Mr Tunji Alausa, attributed the mass failure to the efficacy of JAMB’s anti-malpractice technology.