FG gives precise figure of out-of-school children in Nigeria

The Federal government said on Friday that it has obtained a precise figure of out-of-school children in the country. 

It said that the figure had put an end to several unrealistic figures being used by local and international platforms to describe the state of basic education in Nigeria.

The government disclosed that precisely, 10, 193,198, children of school age were not in school for several reasons.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, disclosed the information at a press conference in Abuja.

He said the figure was part of the outcome of the National Personnel Audit conducted by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) for both public and private schools in Nigeria.

He said that most of the children were found in Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Kastina and several other states.

The permanent secretary said that several measures were being taken by all relevant local and international stakeholders to improve enrolment of children in schools.