Education crisis affects girls, children with disabilities – UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said that the education crisis in Nigeria disproportionately affects girls and children with disabilities. 

This comes as the group lamented the country’s education situation, pointing out that one-third of Nigerian youngsters are out of school. 

This was announced by UNICEF in a statement released on Monday to commemorate the International Day of Education, which is observed every year on January 24. 

UNICEF stated in the statement that Nigeria has the highest rate of out-of-school children, with 10.5 million children not in school.  

Nigeria has one out of every five out-of-school children in the world, according to UNICEF. 

Girls, girls, children with disabilities, children from the poorest homes, children on the street, and children impacted by displacement or emergencies are among the children most likely to be affected by the education crisis, according to the organization. 

“Millions of Nigerian youngsters have never set foot in a classroom and this is a shame,” UNICEF Representative in Nigeria Peter Hawkins stated. 

“Perhaps equally terrible is the enormous percentage of youngsters who enter a classroom but never go from primary to secondary school, thereby cutting off their possibilities for a stable future.”  

UNICEF applauded Nigeria’s decision to devote 7.2% of its N17 trillion budget for 2022 on education. 

“The Nigerian Government has committed to increasing funding for education, which is a very important step – far too many Nigerian children are not in the classroom today, and those who are, far too many are not getting a solid education that can translate into good prospects for their futures,” Hawkins said in response.