Nigeria Facing Staggering Learning Crisis

United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has raised the alarm over the depleting fortune of education system in Nigeria, particularly the basic education sub-sector.

UNICEF said that, aside the rising number of out of school children which runs in millions, huge percentage of the children in schools are not learning as they supposed, hence they are not equip with basic foundational knowledge and skills.

UNICEF Education Specialist, Manar Ahmed, in her presentation at the capacity building workshop for journalists in Kano, on Friday, attributed the situation to the poor quality of teachers who ought to administer the knowledge to the children.

She made reference to the 2018 Personnel Audit conducted by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), which confirmed that many basic schools in Nigeria are lacking in adequate teachers and other facilities needed to impact knowledge on the people.

She also made reference to data that indicated that Nigeria is seriously facing staggering learning crisis, stressing the urgent need for intervention by the government and other stakeholders to make necessary corrections.

The Officer-in-Charge (OIC), UNICEF Field Office, Kano, Elhadji Issakha Diop, in his speech, appreciated the support of the media for being a strong ally and advocate for the rights of children.

He said: “Talking about children’s rights, education is one of such rights. Education is a fundamental human right, and that right is well-articulated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the (CRC), which guides the work of UNICEF, and of course, in other legal instruments, including the Nigerian Constitution.

“In executing its mandate of promoting, protecting, advocating, and collaborating with partners for the realisation of the rights of children, UNICEF has been collaborating with the Government of Nigeria to improve outcomes in the education sector.”

He, however, admitted that significant progress has been made over the years but much more needs to be done. “For instance, the case with some countries globally, and in sub-saharan Africa, Nigeria faces a leaming crisis in which learning is not taking place, even for children that are in school.”

A lecturer from Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Dr. Chidi Ezinwa, in his presentation, stressed the need for media professionals to champion the cause of promoting children rights.

He predicted a doom future for Nigeria is the children are not given the right education, health, and other opportunities that would make them better and useful to the society.