In a troubling development, Nigeria’s out-of-school population has nearly doubled, according to a recent report by UNESCO in partnership with the Global Education and Monitoring Report. The number of children and youth missing out on education has surged to 20.2 million. The federal and state governments must urgently address this alarming situation and take steps to reverse the grim statistics.

UNESCO reports that 244 million children and youth worldwide, aged between six and 18, are out of school. Nigeria, with its 20.2 million out-of-school children, now ranks second globally, trailing only India, while Pakistan occupies third place. This figure represents a dramatic increase from the often-quoted estimates of 10 to 13.5 million, which had already positioned Nigeria as the country with the highest number of unschooled children for over a decade, according to the World Bank and other agencies.

Experts attribute this surge to several factors: widespread insecurity leading to mass displacement, inadequate funding for education, rising poverty that forces parents to send children to work or hawk on the streets, and the breakdown of social and family structures.

The most critical cause, however, is the failure of governance at the federal, state, and local levels. While education is on the Concurrent Legislative List, it is the responsibility of states and local governments to drive primary and secondary education. Unfortunately, they have not fulfilled this mandate.

With a population of 216 million, nearly 10 percent of Nigerians are facing a lifetime of illiteracy. This contrasts sharply with India, which has 1.41 billion people, and Pakistan with 230.28 million. Given Nigeria’s low literacy rate of 62.02 percent, the country should be striving to achieve mass literacy, not allowing another generation to grow up without basic education.

As the UN emphasizes, “Education is the basic building block of every society.” It is the single most important investment a country can make to foster prosperity, health, and equality. Access to quality education is also enshrined as a fundamental human right and forms part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal Number 4.

Successive Nigerian governments have recognized the importance of education, implementing various initiatives to promote free, compulsory education. This includes the National Policy on Education of 2004 and the Child Rights Act of 2003, which mandates nine years of compulsory schooling for all children. Yet, many states—particularly in the North—have failed to domesticate or enforce the Child Rights Act, allowing the region to host the highest concentration of out-of-school children and other poor human development indicators.

With strong backing from the federal government, all 36 states should implement well-planned, mass education programs to create a knowledge-based society and economy. The UN warns that children deprived of early education are vulnerable to unemployment, poverty, early marriage, and teenage pregnancy. Contributing factors such as poverty, gender inequality, disability, family crises, and conflict must be addressed to reduce dropout rates.

Governors frequently pay lip service to education. From 2015 to 2021, 26 of Nigeria’s 36 states failed to provide the necessary matching funds to access N33.6 billion earmarked by the Federal Government for rehabilitating basic schools through the Universal Basic Education Fund.

Nigeria has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of a Child through the passage of the Child Rights Act. Yet, the law remains unenforced. Child marriage is still rampant in the North, with Save the Children International reporting that 48 percent of girls in the region are married before the age of 15, compared to the national average of 44 percent for girls marrying before 18.

Ensuring that the country is safe for education must be a top priority. UNICEF reported that in 2020, 1,436 schoolchildren and 17 teachers were abducted from schools, with 16 others killed. School abductions, particularly in states like Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, and Kebbi, have severely disrupted education in these regions. Some of the largest abductions include the kidnapping of 276 Chibok schoolgirls in 2014, the snatching of 110 students in Dapchi, Yobe State, and the kidnapping of 344 students in Kankara, Katsina State.

The out-of-school crisis is no longer confined to the North. The South-West, once renowned for its progressive education policies, has seen a sharp decline in school enrollment, poor performance in external examinations, and a growing number of out-of-school children. The region’s governors must urgently address these issues.

National and state governments should renew their commitment to free, compulsory primary and secondary education. This requires training, motivating, and recruiting teachers in adequate numbers, as well as ensuring that schools are properly funded and equipped.

In the past, the old Western Region allocated more than 50 percent of its budget to free primary education. Similarly, the defunct Eastern Region invested substantial funds in education and vocational training. Achieving 100 percent literacy should be a national objective. Nigeria should aim to surpass the literacy rates of other emerging economies, such as Indonesia (95.66 percent), Kenya (81.54 percent), Ghana (79.04 percent), India (74.37 percent), and Morocco (73.75 percent).

Education is the foundation of a productive population and a vibrant economy. Without urgent intervention, an uneducated youth population will become a significant burden on Nigeria’s future development.

The 1999 Constitution mandates the government to ensure equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels. A study from the University of Hong Kong’s Curriculum Studies Department found that mass quality education played a crucial role in the rapid industrialization of the Asian Tiger economies. Nigeria’s federal and state governments must adopt policies that eradicate illiteracy at all levels, ensuring that the country can meet its development aspirations. The time to act is now.