Global Initiative On Out-of-School Children Nigeria

ALL CHILDREN IN SCHOOL BY 2015Global Initiative onOut-of-School ChildrenNIGERIA COUNTRY STUDYConducted within the Conceptual andMethodology Framework (CMF)March 2012Nigeria

Global Initiativeson Out-of-SchoolChildrenCover image: UNICEF/Nigeria/Valentina Solarin/2010Inside layout and figures: Educationii

ContentsAcknowledgement . vPreface . viList of Tables and Figures . viiiAcronyms . xExecutive Summary . xii1. Introduction . 11.1. Country context . 11.2. Overview of the education sector . 31.3. General introduction to the 5DE in the country . 31.4. Data sources . 41.5. Methodology . 51.6. Procedure . 61.7. Structures for executing the study . 62. Educational Participation and exclusion in Nigeria . 82.1. Educational participation . 82.2. Profiles of excluded children . 132.3. Analytical summary . 393. Barriers and bottlenecks . 413.1. Introduction . 413.2. Socio-cultural demand side . 413.3. Economic demand side . 433.4. Supply side barriers . 453.5. Political, governance, capacity, financing . 493.6. Analytical summary . 504. Strategic Interventions . 524.1. Introduction . 524.2. Socio-cultural demand side . 524.3. Economic demand side . 534.4. Supply side issues . 544.5. Management and governance. 574.6. Budgeting and finance . 584.7. Analytical Summary . 595. Social Protection Systems . 605.1. Introduction . 605.2. Mapping . 605.3. Impact of the social protection systems . 64iii

5.4. Financing . 675.5. Analytical Summary . 676. Conclusions . 68Annexes. 71iv

AcknowledgementsThe Honourable Minister of Education (HME), Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’I (OON) would like tocommend the contributions of everyone who participated in the development of this report on Out ofSchool Children (OOSC) for Nigeria. She wishes to acknowledge the support of UNICEF and theUNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) in this really long and arduous task. The contributions of otherorganizations, agencies and individuals to the process - the National Population Commission (N Pop C),Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), National PlanningCommission (NPC), National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC)and National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) - are highly appreciated. The cooperation ofthe National Population Commission in availing the workshops that led to the development of the reportwith the invaluable data is gratefully acknowledged.The effort of the Technical working Group (TWG) that developed, cleaned up and made the OOSC datameaningful to non-professional users deserves a special commendation. Specific mention has to bemade of everyone that contributed to the development of the current OOSC data. These includeValentina Solarin Education Specialist, UNICEF Abuja for leading the data development process; StellaOkafor, Deputy Director Special Education, FME, for hosting the meetings; Muhammad Sani Usman,the Girls Education Consultant and Adviser to the FME for facilitating the workshops that generated theOOSC data for National and States levels; Atoyebi Olayinka Peters, EMIS Consultant UNICEF Abujafor supporting the data cleaning process; Professors B. Nworgu and Z. Njoku of the University of Nigeria(UNN), Nsukka for conducting a study on OOSC, using Conceptual and Methodological Framework(CMF) of the Global OOSC initiative.Halilu Pai Director, National Census and John Attah, Director Statistics; P. U. Mbagwu, Sa’ad AbubakarSegun Ologun (of the National Population Commission), Ify Agunwa Deputy Director, FME EdB,R.Obadeyi, Abdul Gaffa, Ofuani Ndubusi . Adamu Garba; G.Z. Hanock and Akani Odomene (of theFME NEMIS Education data bank.), Mr. Areoye Tunde of NMEC; Shafu Ali of the Federal Ministry ofWomen Affairs and Social Development; M O Salami and G AIro of the National Bureau of Statistics;Akpanossom Udoh and Yakubu Achimugu the Universal Basic Education Commission. F Y. Paiko andSalihu Mairiga of the Federal Ministry of Education; Bashir Modibbo and . S. U. Okeke of the NationalPlanning Commission (NPC). Jibril Abubakar (HOD Statistics), Idris Abubakar Suleiman, Rufai BelloAhmed (Planning Officers) Yakubu Achimugu of UBEC. Very special mention is also due to theindependent consultants who readily made their expertise and valuable time available to the team: TajuOlasupo (Devinfo Expert) PCU, FMWA&R, Kaduna and Julius Olajire Ademola D.C.C.L, Kaduna.Particular mention also has to be made of the Chairperson Ministerial Committee, Mabel I. Ozumba,Director Basic and Secondary Education, FME, and her support team of FME officials andrepresentatives from FME parastatals – UBEC, NMEC and NCNE – who helped with valuableinformation on government strategies/activities for bringing the children back to school.v

PrefaceWith less than three years to 2015, large numbers of school-aged children are not attending school, and thisposes a serious threat to achieving attendance goals laid out as part of Education for All (EFA) and theMillennium Development Goals (MDGs). Like many developing countries, Nigeria is facing serious challengesrelated to the phenomenon of out of school children.Recent estimates show that the sub-Saharan Africa region accounts for 52% of the global out-of-schoolchildren. 22% of primary school age children in sub-Saharan African were out-of-school. Nigeria’sDemographic and Health Survey (NDHS) data for 2008 in fact show that some 7.3 million children of primaryschool age were out of school. When the junior secondary school component is taken into account, the out ofschool children (OOSC) problem becomes even larger, with wide regional, geographical and genderdisparities across the country. Even when enrolled, hundreds of children (especially girls) are not showing upfor class. Although girls’ primary school attendance has generally been improving, this has not been the casefor girls from the poorest households. So many children drop out of primary school that the expected JuniorSecondary School (JSS) enrolment rate is very low. Thus, Nigeria’s major challenges are low attendance, lowcompletion rates and gender as well as regional/geographical disparities.Government has been responding through a number of strategic interventions intended to improve enrolmentby addressing the issue of accessibility. Efforts are also underway to improve retention and achievement byimproving quality, and reducing inequalities by paying greater attention to gender sensitive and inclusivepolicies, as well instituting more effective education management systems. Accessibility is being addressedthrough increased number of schools within reach of populations. Other remedial measures include provisionfor teacher development, making education more easily affordable, flexible programmes for children fromnomadic communities, reduction of socio-cultural barriers and the introduction of social welfare measures.UNICEF is supporting Government to develop state education sector plans, systems (curriculum, materialsand teaching) for early child development/school readiness,conditional cash transfers/scholarshipprogrammes for parents/caregivers who enrol and keep their children in school, and training schemes forfemale teachers who sign on for rural schools. UNICEF is also assisting with curriculum and teachingmaterials for integrating formal education into Quranic schools. These assistance programmes incorporate,gender concerns inclusiveness, school-based teacher development programmes, school-based managementcommittees, and school grant systems.It is hoped that with increasing social mobilisation, strong political will and improved management and fundingNigeria should be able to achieve the education-related. This report provides to highlight flash points for theadvocacy that would be needed in this direction.The Global workshop on Out- of-School Children (OOSC) attended by Nigeria in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2010initiated this study on OOSC in Nigeria, this was managed by Federal Ministry of Education (FME) theUnitedNations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) Institute for Statistics (UIS) and other sectorial partners - (NEMIS (Nigeria Education ManagementInformation System), NPopC (National Population Commission), NBS (National Bureau of Statistics), NPC(National Planning Commission), NCNE (National Commission for Nomadic Education), NMEC (NationalCommission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education), UBEC (Universal Basic EducationCommission). The study was carried out using the Conceptual and Methodological Framework (CMF) of theGlobal OOSC initiative, and the process involved several brainstorming sessions with stakeholders with FMEproviding leadership. The objective of the study was to determine the complexity of OOSC in terms ofmagnitude, inequalities and multiple disparities based on five determined dimensions.A Ministerial Committee set up by Hon. Minister of Education was mandated to determine thestrategies/activities for bringing children back to school. The committee disaggregated the statistical analysisof the dimensions of OOSC by States, analysed the barriers and bottle necks in the Nigerian environment andmade suggestions for the further pursuit of concerted efforts to improve equitable and meaningful access toefficiently managed basic education of good quality.Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’I (OON)Honourable Minister of EducationDr. Suomi SakaiUNICEF Representativevi

List of Tables and ChartsTablePageTable 1.1.The Five Dimensions of Exclusion (5DE)3Table 2.1.Gross and Net Enrolment Rates 2002-2010, by Level and Gender9Table 2.2.Overall and Year-on-Year Dropout Rates 2003-2008, by Age and Gender11Table 2.3.Pupil-Teacher Ratio and Percentage of Trained Teachers in Primary and JSS,2004-201012Table 2.4.Pupil-Textbook Ratio in Nigeria13Table 2.5.Table 2.6.Table 2.7.Table 2.8.Estimate of Out of School Children in Pre-primary age group (Dimension 1)2003-2008Magnitude and Categories of OOSC in Dimension 2 by Geo-political Zone andStateMagnitude and Categories of OOSC in Dimension 3 by Geo-political Zone andStateChild Labour and Out of School Children, Nigeria, Multiple Indicator ClusterSurvey 200713172839Table 3.1.Nigeria’s Education Spending 2005 – 201050Table 4.1.Number of IQE Centres under SUBEBs, Enrolment and Number of Teachersin UNICEF CFO States: 2008/200953ChartPageChart 1.1.Proportion of Underweight Children 2004-20081Chart 1.2.Infant Mortality Rates 2004-20082Chart 1.3.Life Expectancy in Nigeria 2000 and 20092Chart 1.4.The Five Dimensions of Exclusion (5DE)4Chart 2.1.Total enrolments by level, 2002-20108Chart 2.2.Primary enrolment by grade, 2002-20109Chart 2.3.Net and gross primary enrolment rates, Nigeria 2003-200810Chart 2.4.Classification of the out-of-school population by school exposure14Chart 2.5.Magnitude and Categories of OOSC for Primary-Age Children (Dimension 2), NDHS 200815Chart 2.6A.Gender Disparity in OOSC in Dimension 2, NDHS 200815Chart 2.6B.Location Disparity in OOSC in Dimension 2, NDHS 200815Chart 2.7A.Wealth Disparity in Dimension 2 OOSC, NDHS 200816Chart 2.7B.Wealth Disparity in Categories of Dimension 2, NDHS 200816Chart 2.8.Summary of OOSC effect sizes by Gender, location and wealth, NDHS 200816Chart 2.9.Per cent of out of school children by geopolitical zone (Dimension 2), NDHS 200818Chart 2.10.Per cent of primary-age children out of school (Dimension 2) in North Central zone by state, NDHS200818Chart 2.11.School exposure of primary-age OOSC (Dimension 2) in North Central zone by state, NDHS 200819Chart 2.12.Summary of OOSC effect sizes by gender, location and wealth in North Central zone (Dimension 2),NDHS 200819Chart 2.13.Per cent of primary-age children out of school (Dimension 2) in North East zone by state, NDHS 200820Chart 2.14.School exposure of primary-age OOSC (Dimension 2) in North East zone by state, NDHS 200820vii