The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has tasked the Nigerian government to address barriers responsible for the increasing number of out-of-school children in the country.
UNICEF Country Representative to Nigeria, Mr Peter Hawkins said this when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum, a special interview programme, in Abuja.
Hawkins identified poverty, proximity to school, and inadequate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities, among others, as factors hindering retention in school and the completion of education in the country.
According to him, one of the biggest problems is the reduction of the number of schools from basic to post basic level, especially for the girls.
He lamented the drop in junior secondary education, as there is a massive drop in enrollment and going to school.
He said that even though in Nigeria there is free basic education for all, but there is the issue of transport to the school, uniform; the cost of books and all of these unintended consequences that are all costs that are there.
He said there is need to reduce those barriers and making the school closer to the villages is an obvious way and also looking out for ways that communities can sustain their children.
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