As the world marks the World Literacy Day, the Nigeria Union of Journalists observes that the significance of this occassion must not be lost on governments of the Nigerian federation both at the federal and sub-national units.
This is in spite of the various efforts being made by the different entities and institutions to raise the standard of education in the country: they are simply not enough.
The new annual global education monitoring report by UNESCO indicates that 251 million are out of school (OOS) which is a mere reduction of one percent since 2015.
In Africa, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, the indicators are dire. The report shows a clear connection between illiteracy and countries in extreme poverty.
Similarly, a previous 2022 report by UNICEF had shown that “One in three children are out-of-school in Nigeria. This means 10.2 million at the primary level and 8.1 million at the junior secondary school (JSS) level, while 1. 12 million children never attended school and 5.9 million left school early”.
This latest report from UNESCO on the literacy rate in Africa, especially Nigeria is deeply troubling as the continent witnessed an increase in the number of out-of-school children in Africa by 12 million. Nigeria’s out-of-school population accounts for a whopping 15 percent of the global total. This is clearly outrageous and unsustainable.
While bemoaning the fall in the quality of teachers and administrators in Nigerias’ schools, a BusinessDay report on the 28th of October 2024 had indicated that education spending per child has remained flat since 2010, signaling a lack of investment. The report also claimed that in Africa, especially Nigeria, nearly as much is spent by governments on debt servicing as on education.
The situation is not helped by the constant search for new and greener pastures by teachers and educators beyond the shores of our country, thereby adding to the greatly diminished numbers of those emptying out of our education system.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists calls on governments and institutions of government to brace up for the challenge to ensure that our people are made literate through deliberate policies and investments in education as well as provide much greater incentives to educators. A new, positive chapter just has to be written on this troubling issue.
Achike Chude
National Secretary.
