The federal government says massive enrollment in 17 states of the country caused the out-of-school figure of the country to drop from 10.1 million in 2019 to 6.946 million in 2020.
The feat was achieved through a $611 million World Bank credit facility to support Universal Basic Education (UBE).
Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who disclosed at a press briefing in Abuja, on Thursday.
He also said that efforts of the National Association of Proprietors and School Owners of Nigeria (NAPSON), alone saw to the enrollment of one million children, while 900,000 Nigerians were “taken off the shelf” of adult illiterates in 2020.
Adamu said more out-of-school children would be enrolled in 2021, adding that another $500 million loan was secured from the World Bank credit facility to drive the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) programme, to ensure girls were taken off the streets, trained and empowered to live normal and quality lives.
The minister said the World Bank Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) project had been launched in Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Ebonyi, Kano, Kebbi, Oyo, Yobe, Niger and Zamfara.
“As today, we have recorded impressive school enrolment figures in 17 states of the federation where BESDA is being implemented. I can, however, tell you that through the BESDA initiative, we have reduced the figure of out-of-school children from 10.1 million since May last year down to 6.946, 328 million,” he said.
