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#Post#: 25--------------------------------------------------
Government to conduct school census in 2014
DIR By: Ebenezer
Date: July 26, 2013, 7:17 pm
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The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruquyyatu Rufa'i, said on
Thursday in Abuja that the ministry would conduct a school
census in 2014.
She disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the launch of a
report on NigeriaEducation and Skill Policy Notes by the World
Bank.
Rufa'i said the census, to be conducted in the first quarter of
2014, would ascertain the number of out-of-school children in
the country.
"We are not saying that the report from international bodies
that about 10.1 million Nigerian children are out of school is
not correct, but we want to conduct a census to ascertain this
figure.
"By the first quarter of next year, we will conduct education
census in our schools,’’ she said.
She said that government was taking measures to ensure that
Nigeria does not remain the country with the highest number of
out-of-school children in the world.
The minister said that the establishment of a one-year Early
Childhood Care and Development Education (ECCDE) programme was
to address the high number of out-of-school children in the
country.
"We believe that we should not have the highest numberof
out-of-school children in the world. Attention is therefore
being given to addressing the situation.
"A total of 125 day and boarding schools are being constructed
under the Almajiri Education Programme. Eighty of these have
been completed while 45 are in various stages of final
completion.
"The programme is aimed at integrating the Almajiri system into
the Universal Basic Education programme. A similar programme is
also targeting girls’ education.
"In addition, comprehensive attention is being given to the
development of new infrastructure and rehabilitation of existing
ones to create access for additional pupils,’’ she said.
The minister said that teaching and learning materials were
provided to ensure quality education, adding that basic
education curriculum was revised to meet the country’s
development objectives.
She noted that at the tertiary level, government had established
12 new federal universities.
According to her, nine of them had kicked-off with a N4.7
billion grant given to each of them for infrastructure
development.
Rufa'i said that more than N109.4 billion had been released to
universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in five
phases to enhance the application of modern technology in
teaching process.
She commended the inputs of the bank and other development
partners to improve education sector in the country.
The World Bank Country Director, Marie-Francoise Marie-Nelly,
said that there were about 10.5 million out-of-school children
in Nigeria "which is more than the population of some
countries.’’
She said these children were concentrated in the northernpart of
the country and that those mostly affected were girls.
She said Nigeria's quality of education was low, adding that
about 60 per cent of students are not able to readand write
after completing primary education.
"The obstacle that fuels the situation is the issue of poverty.
You find out that a number of children do not go to school
because of funds, despite the government policy of free
education.
"In addition, inadequate nutrition; 40 per cent of children in
Nigeria are malnourished and it is affecting their ability to
learn.
"It is important to say that culture, religion, gender biases
all together also affectthe quality of outcome in education.
"But most importantly the lack of teaching materials and quality
of teachers among other factors is the cause of this problem,’’
she said.
She advised Nigeria to increase her funding on the education
sector, adding that8.7 per cent allocation to education in the
national budget was poor.
According to her, 80 per centout of the 8.7 per cent budgetary
allocation is used to pay teachers salary.
Marie-Nelly said that if this trend was not reversed, it would
stunt Nigeria’s growthand hence fail in its plan to become one
of the most developed countries by the year 2020.
Also, Senior Education Specialist, World Bank Africa Region,
Olatunde Adekola, said that Nigeria must endeavour to make
quality education accessible to all, especially at the basic
level.
He said that from the statistics, tertiary education in the
country was very strong and one of the best inthe continent, but
that a lot of improvement needed to be done at the primary
level.
"Primary education needs to be improved so that if at the very
least an individual stops after secondary school, the quality of
his life will be enhanced,’’ he said.
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