With out-of-school children in the world living in Nigeria, the Pakistani Nobel Laureate and renowned female education activist, Malala Yousafzai, and the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, visited the country in June to advocate for girl-child education.
The timing of the visit was significant as it coincided with Malala鈥檚 26th birthday and marked the 10th anniversary of her groundbreaking at the United Nations.
The urgency of child education in Nigeria is evident from staggering statistics: children between ages 5 and 14 听are currently out of school, and only 61 per cent of 6-11 year-olds attend school regularly, according to UNICEF.
The situation is even more concerning in the northeast and northwest regions of the country where the female primary attendance rate is about 47 per cent, meaning that more than half of the girls in those regions are not in school.
Malala emphasized the crucial role of girls' education in shaping the nation's future. She called on all state and federal governments to commit to providing complete education, including senior secondary education, to every child in Nigeria.
Ms. Mohammed highlighted the significance of Malala's visit, stating: "We have many out-of-school children. We know that the quality of education is not what every child should have in this country, and an advocacy mission to an administration that believes in education is important timing.
鈥淪o, her voice, her inspiration, not just to government, but to society and governors that we met, is extremely important as this administration begins its journey of the next four years."
Why I am here
In a meeting with Nigeria鈥檚 Vice President Kashim Shettima, Malala further expressed her concern: 鈥淚 am here because girls' education is important. It will determine the future of Nigeria. So, I am here because I want to bring attention to those issues."
She urged the Nigerian government to make a commitment to ensure that every child in the country has access to free and quality education, including senior secondary education.
She stressed the importance of making a full financial commitment to ensure that no child is left behind, recalling her own struggle for education rights after being shot by the Taliban in Pakistan at the age of 14.
She emphasized the need for free and quality education and urged full financial commitment to ensure no child is left behind in the country.
This was Malala's third visit to Nigeria.
In 2014, she visited Nigeria to express solidarity with the country following the abduction of 276 schoolgirls by Boko Haram insurgents, and in 2017 she visited again to support education activists working with school-age girls.
The challenge of millions of out-of-school children in Nigeria is influenced by various factors, including child marriage and the economic background of school-age children. Only one in four girls from poor, rural families manage to complete their Junior Secondary education.
The security situation in some regions of the country, marked by attacks on schools leading to abductions and killings, further discourages parents from sending their children, especially girls, to schools in unstable environments.
鈥淚n northeast Nigeria, at least听496 classrooms have been destroyed and 1,392 classrooms have been damaged but repairable,鈥� reports UNICEF.
However, efforts are underway to improve the low enrollment of girls in schools. Between 2012 and 2022, for example, the Nigerian government, the UK鈥檚 Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and UNICEF, working under the Girls Education Programme Phase 3 (GEP3), invested $109 million and enrolled an additional 1.5 million girls in schools across six northern Nigerian states鈥擪atsina, Kano, Niger, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Bauchi.
Vice President Shettima conveyed the administration鈥檚 support for Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5, which prioritize education and gender equality.
"President Bola Tinubu believes that the prosperity and respect of every society is directly proportional to the way they treat their women folk," Mr. Shettima asserted.
