Rahama and another UNICEF official during the press briefing

By Maduabuchi Nmeribeh/Kano

Data from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has indicated that no fewer than 2. 2 million children were stopped from going to school due to heavy flooding in Nigeria.

The Chief of Kano UNICEF Field Office, Rahama Rihood Mohammed Farah disclosed this during a press briefing to mark the International Day of Education (IDE).

He called for a state of emergency to address the emerging impact of climate change on learning in Nigeria.

Rahama hinted that  UNICEF released a report of a study on the disruptive impact of Climate Change on learning in 85 countries, including Nigeria, adding that the report indicated that over  2, 200,000 Nigerian children had their learning disrupted by flooding alone in Nigeria.

Rahama gave the  theme for the 2025 International Day of Education as:  “AI and Education: Preserving Human Agency in a World of Automation,” but stated that, “our conversation today is not focused entirely on the 2025 theme; we will  talk about the state of basic education in the states supported by the UNICEF Kano Field Office, namely, Kano, Jigawa and Katsina, including the emerging, disruptive impact of Climate Change.”

According to him while Northwest Nigeria has the second highest out-of-school rates in Nigeria,  the situation of the out-of-school population in Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states is alarming, and further exacerbated by poor learning outcomes for those children who are fortunate to be enrolled in school.

He further stated that  “there are currently about 10.2 million children at the primary level are out of school in Nigeria, 16 per cent of them are from Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states, according to MICS 2021.

” Close to one million children are out of school in Kano state( 989,234); a total of 337,861 Out-of-school children are in Jigawa, while Katsina state with 536,112 out-of-school children. According to MICS 2021, 32% of primary school-going age children are out of school in Kano state.”

Rahama noted that while the spectre of Out of out-of-school children (OOSC) is a major concern, the challenge is that even those children who have the opportunity to be enrolled in school do not have quality education.

“Only 1 out of 4 children in Nigeria, aged 7-14 years can read and understand a simple sentence or solve basic arithmetic, according to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 2021) report.

” Across Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states, this challenge is staggering: Tests conducted by the Federal Ministry of Education in 2022 found that Foundational Learning rates stand at 11 per cent or lower in the three states of Kano, Jigawa and Katsina.

“For instance, only 2% of primary school learners in Jigawa state have foundational reading skills while less than 1% have numeracy skills. Although Kano figures appear better at 9.6% for reading proficiency, and 11.2% for numeracy, these figures are way lower than the national averages of 26% per cent for Reading proficiency and 25% for Numeracy respectively.”

He blamed inadequate funding of the education sector by governments in these three states as part of the problems.

Rahama said: “The Education Sector has faced the challenge of inadequate funding across the states. Although budgetary allocations have improved in recent years, exceeding the UNESCO benchmark in states like Kano and Jigawa, actual release and expenditure has not been the case.”

Further speaking on the disruptive impact of climate change on learning, Rahama revealed that: “In Jigawa state, last year flooding has damaged or destroyed 115 school buildings and facilities, making them unsafe or unusable.

“This has led to prolonged school closures and a lack of educational resources for about 92,518 (F:43,813; M48,705) children of school age across the 27 LGAs in the state. With the support of partners, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK, UNICEF is supporting the states of Kano and Jigawa to provide a climate-resilient learning environment to mitigate the impact of climate change on learning.

“In the last year, UNICEF has engaged 1000 youths (350 in Jigawa, 650 in Katsina) on acting on the Climate Change, resulting in the planting of 200 trees in Jigawa and 100 trees in Katsina state respectively.

” How UNICEF is supporting the basic education in Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states to address challenges in the basic education sector.

“To expand access to expand access to education for children from families, UNICEF has supported Cash transfers to improve access to education for vulnerable families.

” Enrolment drives: UNICEF has been partnering with communities, traditional leaders and decision-makers on enrollment drives to improve access to education.

“We have partnered with the Jigawa State House of Assembly led by the Speaker on school enrolment campaigns resulting in the enrollment of hundreds of children in school. Provision of school grant: Support the provision and effective use of school grants to improve access to quality inclusive education.”