Vice-President Kashim Shettima has emphasised the urgent need to prioritise education for the girl child in Nigeria, warning that children left out of school today could become threats to national stability in the future.
Speaking at the inaugural International Conference on Girl Child Education in Abuja, Shettima noted that major barriers like child marriage, poverty, and gender-based violence hinder girls’ access to education.
The Vice President, represented by Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, quoted worrying statistics showing that 25.6% of primary-age children and 29.6% of secondary school-age children in Nigeria are out of school.
He stressed that educating girls is vital for both social stability and economic growth, explaining that each additional year a girl stays in school improves her future prospects and contributes to societal well-being.
His words:
“We must therefore remember that the child who remains out of school today will be a threat to their peer in the classroom tomorrow, and we cannot afford to turn away from this reality, and the need for creative and innovative solutions is now more present than ever.
“The issue of girl-child education is for every nation, but in our part of the world, her vulnerability is especially pronounced. Her education is more than a moral obligation.
“It is the stabilising force of our economic and social order, for every additional year a girl remains in school, her future earning potential increases, infant mortality rates decrease, and poverty levels in communities fail.
“We see this reflected in the gender parity index, which shows that girls have almost caught up with boys at the primary school level with a ratio of 0.99 and even surpassed boys at secondary school level with a ratio of 1.08.
“These gains are, however, at risk unless we intensify our interventions to reach every girl, particularly in areas where barriers remain strongest.
“This is why, at the National Economic Council, we have set out to guarantee the future of a girl child, adopting education as one of our critical thematic areas of intervention, alongside health, nutrition and employability in a rapidly changing world.
“We have set the ambitious goal of achieving 0.6 score on the World Bank’s human capital index, and we understand that the road to this objective involves increasing years of schooling, improving the quality of education and ensuring that no child, especially no girl child, is left vulnerable or out of school.
“Our data further emphasises the urgency of addressing these issues, particularly in northern Nigeria. States in the north west and north east face the highest out of school rates in Kebbi, Zamfara, and Bauchi for example, more than 60% of primary school age children are not in school with Kebbi at a staggering 64.8%.
“The secondary school numbers are similarly alarming with Bauchi at 66.75% Kebbi at 63.8% and Jigawa, which is my own state, at 62.6%.”
Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, echoed this concern, stating that while progress has been made, harmful practices like early marriage and poverty continue to restrict girls’ access to quality education.
Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun also raised alarms about the Almajiri system and out-of-school children, describing the situation as a national crisis that must be tackled.
The conference called for increased funding and focus on girls’ education, with Shettima advocating for states to allocate 15-20% of their budgets to education. He maintained that improving education is not only a target but a necessity for the future of Nigeria’s children.