Main barriers to education
- Lack of qualified teachers
- Poor school management
- Limited national census data
- Security
Interventions to barriers
- Participation of private sector
- Renovation of dilapidated schools
- Teacher training
- School management training
According to the UIS, 45 percent of Nigeria’s population is under the age of 15 and the number of out of school children (OOSC) exceeds 8.7 million (GMR, 2010). With such a large school-age population, Nigeria has experienced significant strains on its education system. The country’s National Policy on Education was first elaborated in 1977 and at present provides for seven years of pre and primary education.
Recently, Nigeria has been adversely impacted by falling oil prices, which has led to shortfalls in public finances and the government’s capacity to invest in the education sector. Furthermore, violent attacks from militant groups have done extensive damage to the country’s infrastructure. Such actions have resulted in considerable numbers of displaced people, loss of life and impoverishment.
In an attempt to support Nigeria’s education reform initiatives and relieve the pressure on government resources, EAC has forged partnerships with Cambridge Education, the Oando Foundation and UNICEF to increase access to quality-primary education, relaunch an array of government-run primary schools, and train teachers and school management staff.
Projects
Adopt A School Initiative
Reaching 60,000 OOSC, the EAC and Oando Foundation (OF) Project in Nigeria focuses on adopting 27 schools in nine Northern Nigerian States of Adamawa, Bauchi, Kaduna, Katsina, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto and Taraba with particularly large numbers of out of school children (OOSC).
Improving Access to Education for Conflict-Affected Children in Northeast Nigeria
EAC and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) have been working in partnership to increase access to quality primary education to out of school children (OOSC) in African countries since 2013. In Nigeria, EAC and IRC aim to reach an additional 20,000 OOSC in the northeastern region of the country.
More OOSC in School: Expanding the Reach of the Girls Education Project Phase 3 (GEP3)
Despite having the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria has the highest number of out of school children (OOSC), 10 million between the ages of 5-14, of any country in the world. Sixty percent of OOSC are located in northern Nigeria, where over 50% of eligible children are out of school. Poverty is a major barrier, as well as a mistrust of “western” education and the poor quality of education currently provided in schools. For girls, social and cultural practices such as child marriage pose additional challenges.Partners
Oando Foundation
EAC, in collaboration with the Oando Foundation, will implement a three-year project to increase access to primary education for 60,000 out of school children (OOSC) across 100 public schools in Nigeria.
