By IJEOMA UKAZU
More recently, children are being kidnapped while in their schools in Northern Nigeria by bandits, thus threatening the future of education in that region.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF one in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria and the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.
Even though primary education is officially free and compulsory in Nigeria, about 10.5 million children are currently out-of-school.
Experts point to the coronavirus pandemic and insecurities around schools as reasons for the alarming number of children who are not in school in the country.
They say the future of the educational system, especially in the northern region is threatened as images of heart wrenching photographs of deserted classrooms take the social space.
UNICEF in several press statements has called on the government to act and secure the safety of children while in school and recently, it is calling for the release of 100 abducted students and a teacher of Government Day Secondary School Kaya in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State, North-West Nigeria.
UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins said, “Of the abducted students, 23 students escaped and returned home – two of them with bullet wounds. The abducted students are aged between 14 and 19.
“We strongly condemn this attack, which has happened just a few days after kidnapped students of a school in Niger State, north-central Nigeria, were freed. We call on the authorities to take expedited action to rescue these students and reunite them with their families.”
Hawkins adds that, “the agency reiterates that attacks on schools and abduction of learners are a gross violation of children’s rights, and a horrific experience for children to go through – one which could have long-lasting effects on their mental health and overall well-being.
“Schools must be safe; no child should experience any harm because they went to school, and no parent should come to grief for sending their children to learn,” said Hawkins.
Analysts worry that if these attacks on schools are not stopped, the number of out-of-school children would increase, demanding an end in insecurity.
Recently the Kogi State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Wemi Jones lamented that out of the 17 states in the country with the highest number of out-of-school children, 14 are in the North.
Jones said, if the rate of out-of-school children can be curtailed, it would help check the insecurity that is currently bedeviling the country.
While the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC is targeted at seeking ways to improve the standard of Nigeria’s educational systems, its intervention funds are focused on collaboration with other state actors towards improving access to basic education and reducing Nigeria’s out-of-school children.
The budgetary allocation for education, for example, in 2020 is N671.07 billion, constituting 6.7 percent. Of the N671.07 billion allocated to the Federal Ministry of Education, the sum includes the statutory transfer allocated to UBEC, which is N111.79 billion. Yet, most of the states cannot draw from this fund because of their inability to provide the counterpart funding.
Recently, this prompted the Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, to call on the Federal Government to remove counterpart funding as part of basic requirements for states to access the UBEC funds.
Education which is the fundamental human right for everyone is clearly stated in the
Universal Declaration of Education, which was further detailed in the Convention against Discrimination in Education.