The Federal Government has said the country needs additional 20,000 schools and 907,769 classrooms to absorb the growing number of out-of-school children.
The government announced the figures through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
A statement released on Tuesday in Abuja by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Goong, said the UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, spoke on the development while briefing Education Minister, Prof. Tahir Mamman, and the Minister of State, Dr. Yusuf Sununu.
In September 2022, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said about 20 million school-aged Nigerian children were out-of-school, making the country one of those with the highest figures in the world.
The executive secretary identified infrastructural gaps and inadequate manpower as some of the challenges facing the commission in its efforts to ensure equitable access to quality basic education.
Mamman said the ministry under his watch would prioritise basic education in the country.
The minister said the foundation level was the most critical segment in the sector that must be properly developed in order to impact positively other tiers of the sector and overall national development.
He urged all the states to show greater commitment towards providing counterpart funding to accelerate the development of basic education in the country.
Mamman said President Bola Tinubu’s administration would ensure that every Nigerian child gets onboard the modern ship of education.
He said the forthcoming National Census would end the controversies surrounding the actual figures of the number of out-of-school children in the country.
Also, Dr. Sununu said all hands must be on deck to ensure that Nigerian children get the desired education to prepare them for the future.
He directed Bobboyi to take the struggle for counterpart funding to the doorsteps of state governors, stressing that an uneducated child is a clear danger to himself and the society.
