The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has stated that no fewer than 70 per cent of Nigerian children are suffering from learning poverty.
The World Bank defined learning poverty as the inability of a 10-year-old to read or understand a simple sentence or solve basic numeracy problem
According to UNICEF, research has shown that schooling does not always result in learning. Many children, even if in school, are not learning fundamental skills required for proficiency. This has caused many children to experience learning poverty, with an estimated 70 per cent of Nigerian children falling under this category, varying from state to state.
UNICEF also mentioned that before COVID-19, the world was grappling with a learning crisis with half of all ten-year-olds in middle and low-income countries unable to read or comprehend a simple story. In sub-Saharan Africa this is nearly 9 in every 10 children.
This has necessitated the the ongoing launch of the Nigeria Learning Passport in states across the country.
Usamatu Mohammad Gona, the Katsina State Coordinator of the programme during the launch in Katsina said that the Nigeria Learning Passport is an electronic distance learning medium fortified with audio-visual materials and books to aid self-based learning has been launched in Katsina State to help fast track learning among pupils and students of primary and junior secondary schools across the state.
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