Over 18.5 million children are out of school in Nigeria, the The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said.
The agency said the majority of students are from the northern part of the country.
This was disclosed by the UNICEF Chief of Field Office in Kano, Mr. Rahama Mohammed Farah at a Media Dialogue on Girls’ Education under the Girls’ Education Project (GEP3).
Mr Fatah said, “Currently in Nigeria, there are 18.5 million out of school children, 60 per cent of these out of school children are girls – that is over 10 million girls are out of school. The majority of these out-of-school children are actually from northern Nigeria.”
He said this situation has heightened the gender inequity, where only one in four girls from poor, rural families complete Junior Secondary School education.
Mr Farah said no child should be left behind and that girls’ education should receive special attention.
“Girls’ education is particularly important because as is often stated, when you educate a girl, you educate a nation,” he said.
