The United Nations Children’s Fund has expressed concern over the high number of children not attending school in the North-West region of Nigeria, particularly in Katsina, Kano, and Jigawa states. The Chief of the UNICEF Field Office in Kano State, Mr. Rahama Farah, highlighted this issue during a briefing to commemorate the International Day of Education.
The theme for the 2025 celebration is “AI and Education: Preserving Human Agency in a World of Automation.” Farah emphasized the poor learning outcomes for enrolled children in the three states, citing statistics from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey. He mentioned that a significant percentage of primary school-age children are out of school, with millions of children out of school in Nigeria, a substantial portion of them from Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states.
Farah pointed out that even among children enrolled in school, the quality of education is lacking. The low foundational learning rates in Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states, as well as inadequate funding for the education sector, further compound the challenges faced by the education system. UNICEF is committed to addressing these issues by supporting basic education, providing cash transfers to vulnerable families, offering teacher training, and implementing programs to assist children affected by conflict or trauma.
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