Statistics have shown that no fewer than ninety thousand children in Anambra State are out of school.
This is according to a report provided by a Research Fellow of the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nigeria, Dr Ben Nwosu, at a workshop organised
by a non-governmental organisation, Evidence and Collaboration for Inclusive Development/Christian Aid, on Wednesday, 22nd of September, 2021.
Dr Nwosu described the statistics as worrisome considering the fact that Anambra is one of the educationally advantaged states in the country.
He further intimated that his findings showed that parents claimed to be paying school fees for their children and wards despite the free education policy professed by the state government.
Dr Nwosu said maybe what exists in more developed parts of the state swallows those of the rural areas where one finds dilapidated infrastructure with pupils running around due to the absence of teachers.
He called on the state government to conduct a school census to find out existing infrastructure, manpower and general data in the education sector for intervention, planning and budgeting.
Reacting to the report, the Commissioner for Economic Planning, Budget and Development Partners, Mark Okoye, said the findings from the workshop would assist the state government in policy formulation and data planning, and promised to engage relevant MDAs towards addressing some of the concerns.
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