UNICEF Raises Alarm Over Learning Poverty and Out-of-School Crisis in Northern Nigeria

The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has highlighted learning poverty and the alarming number of out-of-school children as major educational challenges in Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa states.

Speaking at a zonal media briefing to mark the International Day of Education, Muntaka M. Mukhtar, Education Specialist at UNICEF’s Kano Field Office, cited the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), which revealed that Nigeria accounts for 15% of out-of-school children globally and 33% in Sub-Saharan Africa. Alarmingly, 27% of these children are concentrated in the North-West and North-East regions.

According to Mukhtar, 10.2 million primary school-age children in Nigeria are currently out of school, with Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa states alone contributing 16% of this total—over 3 million children. The breakdown includes:

Kano: 1,497,766 out-of-school children

Katsina: 862,634 out-of-school children

Jigawa: 679,731 out-of-school children.

 Mukhtar highlighted the dire state of learning outcomes in these states. Only 1 in 10 children in Kano possess basic literacy and numeracy skills (9.6% literacy and 11% numeracy). The situation is even worse in Jigawa, where only 2% of pupils meet literacy standards and just 0.8% demonstrate numeracy skills. Katsina fares slightly better, with 10.8% literacy and 6.4% numeracy, but all three states fall far below the national averages of 26% for reading and 25% for numeracy.

Adding to the crisis, Nigeria faces a shortage of over 378,000 teachers, with a pupil-to-teacher ratio of 1:65, far exceeding the recommended 1:35 standard.

To combat these challenges, UNICEF and state governments are implementing strategies to improve equitable access to education, particularly for out-of-school children and girls. However, UNICEF urges state authorities to:

Increase education funding and ensure timely release of allocations

Enhance resource utilization to maximize impact.

Recruit more qualified teachers to address the critical shortage.

Mukhtar stressed that addressing learning poverty and improving education access are essential for breaking the cycle of poverty and fostering sustainable development in Nigeria.