International educational consultant, Dr Aderonke Kujore said the out-of-school children phenomenon has become a lingering problem in Nigeria because education has not been prioritised.
She said this during an appearance on Channels TV on Friday.
In May, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Nigeria now has 18.3 million out-of-school children, which positions Nigeria with the challenge of having the largest number of out-of-school children globally.
Kujore said it was unfortunate that decision makers and those tasked with the responsibility to alleviate the out-of-school children menace have not made it a serious priority until now.
The Founder of Aderonke Foundation said it was for this reason that the budget that should go into education is being channelled elsewhere.
She stated that those on the lower rung of the economic ladder encounter various challenges that could make them fail to educate their children.
Kujore said it was therefore imperative that parents are made aware of the value of education and the risks it poses to the country when their children are not educated.
She said it behoved the government to also make sure that any barriers to education are removed.
The educational consultant maintained that most parents grapple with the cost of tuition globally, and especially in Nigeria, because of the nation’s economic challenges.
According to her, Nigeria does not compare favourably with many countries in the world educationally because some of the barriers that exist in Nigeria do not exist in those nations.
Some of these barriers, she said, include the cost of registration, children buying their own seats, children paying for uniform, among others.
“Those are not existent in public schools in many of the countries that enforce education for all,” she said, adding that Nigeria needs to look at this critical area.
She emphasised that Nigeria has a bigger issue to deal with in terms of education because of the enormous number of out-of-school children.
According to her, the situation of such children is particularly peculiar because it is not due to increment of school fees that recently occurred.
She said it was more cultural and related to poverty, as many of the affected parents have not thought of sending their children to school.
“The wealthy are not really seeing the impact. For many of the wealthy, they can send their children to private schools or abroad and ignore what is happening in the wider country.
“Unfortunately, that is not sustainable and we are going to have a bigger issue if not addressed quickly,” she said.
Kujore decried the absence of leaders that have empathy for the people that elected them.
“If our leaders were more focused on making sure that the children whose parents voted them into office have a brighter future, they will make it a priority,”