Imo and Ekiti have the fewest school-age children, according to UNICEF.

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

The two states with the highest percentage of out-of-school children in the nation are Imo and Ekiti.

According to the International Children’s Emergency Fund of the United Nations, they have 1% and 2% of such children (UNICEF).

At a two-day media engagement on the Indicators Cluster Survey 6 (MIC6) Results yesterday in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, UNICEF’s Chief of Measurement for Results (M4R), Claes Johanson, provided the statistics.

According to 2018 figures, the states with the fewest out-of-school children were Abia, Kwara, Enugu, Bayelsa, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Ekiti.

According to Johanson, only 25% of kids aged seven to 14 had core numeracy skills while 27% of kids had foundational reading skills.

The UNICEF representative pointed out that the MIC6 had assisted in locating data in every area that would aid in analyzing how and why things were functioning and not working.

“Ekiti (2%), and Imo have the lowest out-of-school rates,” he claimed (one per cent). The areas with the highest rates are Kebbi (65%), Zamfara (61%) and Bauchi (61%).

He asserts that the statistics show Nigeria has not made any progress in the past five years in terms of the percentage of out-of-school children and needs to start making improvements in this area.

The 2018 Digest of Basic Education Statistics published by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) revealed that the highest figures were found in Kano, Akwa Ibom, Katsina, Kaduna, Taraba, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara, and Bauchi.

“The MIC6 made a lot of things plain. Some of the most significant findings have been in the fields of education and health. The news is good. Less fatalities among children under five have been seen.

“A significant portion of this is caused by an increase in immunization.

“So, five years ago, only 34% of children were immunized. But now that we have 57%, it is definitely time to celebrate. We ought to be really pleased about it.

“We also notice that there is always opportunity for growth, especially in education. Only 25% of youngsters who are truly learning, as we are doing now, have a solid understanding of mathematics.

“Only one in every four kids attends school. So, one in four kids are still not in school, which is the same as it was five years ago.

Therefore, continual education is crucial, he stated.