Nigeria’s development is being hindered by a learning crisis - UNICEF

Learning poverty affects 90% of children in Sub-Saharan Africa.
A UNICEF report reveals that 73% of 10-year-olds in Nigeria struggle with basic reading and comprehension skills.
UNICEF's initiatives aim to reach 4.8 million more children in Nigeria by 2027.

A learning crisis, according to the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), is severely hindering Nigeria's development.

According to a report by Nairametrics, Mrs. Yetunde Oluwatosin, a UNICEF education specialist, highlighted this problem at a media training focusing on fundamental reading and numeracy.

The seminar, which was titled "Turning the Tide on Nigeria's Learning Crisis: A South-West Media Dialogue on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy," was organised by UNICEF in partnership with the Edo State (a south-eastern state in Nigeria) Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), the Edo Ministry of Education, and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) Lagos State Directorate.

According to Oluwatosin, 73% of 10-year-olds in the nation have difficulty reading or understanding simple text, and an astonishing 90% of kids in Sub-Saharan Africa struggle with learning poverty.

She emphasised that, in this situation, only 63% of five-year-olds who were considered to be the poorest and who resided in rural and northern regions engaged in structured learning. She noted that this has resulted in delayed enrollment in elementary school and subpar academic performance.

According to the UNICEF education specialist, Three of every four youngsters in Nigeria are unable to read comprehension texts or complete simple arithmetic equations. In addition, she relayed that just 7% of Nigerian youngsters had the ICT skills essential for the digital economy, despite the fact that 73% of them were literate.

Limited infrastructure, a lack of highly educated instructors, and a lack of learning data, particularly on competence levels, are said to be the causes of Nigeria's learning problem.

Oluwatosin emphasised UNICEF's efforts to improve the calibre of instructional materials and provide learning resources to more than 1.8 million kids between 2018 and 2022. By 2027, UNICEF wants to reach 4.8 million more kids, with a special emphasis on the northern areas.