Executive Director of the Policy Innovation Centre (PIC) and Senior Fellow at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Dr Osasuyi Dirisu, has stated that it is important to understand the enablers and barriers of schooling deprivation as well as interventions that could work within the Nigerian context in solving out-of-school menace in the country.
Dr Dirisu recently made this known in Abuja during the dissemination of the insights from the research conducted by (PIC) that explored the context and behavioural drivers of learning deprivation and outcomes for at-risk children ─ in-school and out-of-school ─ in the country.
According to Dirisu, the research was supported by the high-level forum on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and NESG.
The titles of the research articles, as listed on NESG’s website, are: ‘A comparative analysis of literacy and educational qualification of mothers of in-school and out-of-school children: A case for investment in girl-child education’; ‘‘A tired child from the workshop cannot pick a book to read’: The context of learning deprivation among in-school children’; and ‘‘It is not a must to take your child to school’: The context of school deprivation among out-of-school children in Nigeria’.
Dirisu stressed that one in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria ─ one of the highest numbers globally.
She stated that, for children in school, it is important to assess the proportion who perform below the minimum proficiency in reading at the end of primary school.
She further stated that insights into the context and behavioural drivers of learning deprivation are critical to addressing knowledge and skill gaps that may persist into adulthood and contribute to the future unskilled or poorly skilled labour market.
“Drivers of learning deprivation may also contribute to the increased burden of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Across the spectrum, educational level has a cause-and-effect relationship with multidimensional poverty,” she added.
Dirisu listed poverty, insecurity, and socio-cultural norms as some of the factors that limit the access of girls to education.
She emphasised that early marriage, weak educational systems, poor teaching methodology, child labour practices, parental educational status, user fees, and unavailability of learning resources are factors that increase the likelihood of children dropping out of school.
In light of this, the PIC boss called for an effective and sustainable policy that will enable these challenges to be properly addressed.
