On Friday November 1st, 72 minors were arraigned in the Federal High Court in Abuja on treason charges, for participating in the ‘End Bad Governance’ protests against the Federal Government in August. The demonstrations were to protest against the rising cost of living.
The arraignment, especially given the welfare of the boys who looked poorly fed, caused widespread outrage and debate across Nigeria. It led to President Tinubu ordering their release and an investigation.
They were arrested in places like Kaduna, Abuja, Gombe, Jos, Katsina, and Kano states and brought to Abuja for arraignment. It is safe to say that, had they been actively engaged in school activities, they would have been less likely to engage in any protests.
Despite its importance, as international human rights law mandates that primary education be compulsory and free, children in northern Nigeria are deprived of basic education due to social, economic, and cultural factors.
Worldwide, a staggering 250 million children are denied the right to education. Alarmingly, Nigeria bears a disproportionate burden, accounting for one of the countries with the highest out-of-school children globally, according to UNICEF. The situation has worsened significantly, with the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria soaring from 10.5 million to 18.3 million spread across several states within the country.
Let us focus on Kano.
As of 2022, more than 1.9 million children in Kano state, northern Nigeria, are not enrolled in any school. This is 39 per cent of the total number of children living within the state, according to the 2022 Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty survey
Findings suggest that several factors, such as population growth, poor state funding for education, and persistent insecurity crises, have notably influenced deprivation within states.
Dataphyte analysis showed that out-of-school children in Kano, which were barely a fraction of four per cent of the total child population in 2016, grew to 39 per cent within the space of six years.
As a result, Kano became the state with the highest number of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Multiple data sources from the National Bureau of Statics and other international bodies, like UNICEF, showed that the number of out-of-school children grew from 81,919 reported in 2016 to over 990,000 reported in 2018 and, now, 1.89 million children in 2022.
Just as these children are forced out of school, the Nigeria Child Labour Survey 2022 report also showed that the affected children were engaged in labour activities injurious to their physical and mental development.
Out-of-school children: Kano vs other Nigerian states
In 2016, relative to their school-age population (children between 6 and 11 years), Kano was among the least northern states with out-of-school children, whereas Benue, Kogi and Borno led the chart with over 500,000 deprived children.
However, the following academic year saw a significant increase with Kano, Katsina, Kaduna and Taraba leading the charts on out-of-school children within the country. Subsequently, in 2022, while Kano and Katsina sustained the top position, states like Bauchi, Sokoto and Jigawa followed. States like the Federal Capital Territory, Kwara, Kogi and Nasarawa were at the foot of the log.
The out-of-school per capita is calculated by dividing the number of out-of-school children by the school-aged children population.
Dataphyte learnt that despite Kano having the highest number of out-of-school children, states like Yobe, Taraba, Zamfara, and Sokoto had the highest percentages of out-of-school children-to-child population in 2018. On this table, Kano ranked (22 per cent) below the national average of 25 per cent.
Similarly in 2022, northern states like Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara had the highest percentage of out-of-school children. Kano which was 39 per cent was a distance from the national average of 28.7 per cent. Of the 37 states, 11 had more out-of-school children than the national average.
What influences Kano’s out of school rate
To identify the key factor driving the rise in out-of-school children in Kano, Dataphyte analysed data related to population, budget allocations, and the impact of insecurity on children.
Dataphyte’s analysis reveals a 94 percent correlation between the out-of-school rate and the child population in Kano State. This indicates that the surge in school-aged children—growing by 129 per cent from 2.3 million to 5.2 million between 2016 and 2022—has led to more children missing out on education.
Poor educational funding is another significant factor. To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4, UNESCO recommends allocating 15 to 20 percent of national budgets to education. While Kano allocated 15 per cent to 21 percent of its budget to education from 2020 to 2023, this dropped to just 3 per cent in the 2024 budget of ₦421.53 billion. Although Kano meets the UNESCO benchmark, this reduction may not address the growing issue of out-of-school children.
Insecurity, a pressing concern in many northern states, has been relatively low in Kano, with only 110 deaths reported over the past eight years, suggesting it is not a major contributor to educational challenges in the region.
More concerns, experts react
Afees Agboola, Founder of the Bloom Entrepreneurship Leadership and Advocacy Centre (BELAC), told Dataphyte that addressing the out-of-school children crisis in Kano requires more than just budget considerations; it also involves examining government and parental attitudes toward education.
He said, “All the money the government is budgeting for education, who tracks it and where do they go? Also, what is the historical and cultural trend of the society? How do people see education and what importance do they attach to it? Does the government have the right policies in place to provide basic education for children and reduce child labour?”
Agboola also emphasised the need for the government to either abolish or reform the policies underpinning the Almajiri system to better support children’s education.
In May 2023, the Kano State government domesticated the Child Rights Act, which emphasises the importance of education. However, concerns remain regarding its implementation, particularly in light of decreased budget allocations for education and the state’s rapidly growing population. These factors raise uncertainty about whether the number of out-of-school children will decrease in the coming years.
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