THE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has raised the alarm that no fewer than 1.6 million children are out of school in the North East.
UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Maiduguri, Phuong Nguyen disclosed this during a Seminar Foundation Literacy and Numeracy in North-East held in Maiduguri on Wednesday.
She said UNICEF remains committed to leaving no child behind as it seeks to accelerate education delivery in Nigeria.
She stressed the need need cooporation among the government, UNICEF, donor agencies and other development partners who are already committed to increasing awareness of fundamental learning and excited to share innovative methods learned from the implementation of these programmes in the region.
She said, “At least 1.6 million children are out of school in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States. Of those in school, 72% cannot read a simple text after grade 6. Without acquiring appropriate foundational and transferable skills, children fail to thrive in school and life.
“Addressing the learning crises in North-East, and in Nigeria as a whole, requires us to examine the evidence of what works, explore partnerships with the State, NGOs, development partners and communities.
“This seminar provides us with a platform to share evidence, experiences and to renew our commitment to improving learning outcomes of schoolgirls and boys.”
