Zamfara Has 1 Million Out-of-school Children

Zamfara State has over one million out of school children, making it the state with highest number of such children in Nigeria, Director, Junior Secondary Schools of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Alhaji Sani Mailafiya, has said.

Speaking at an interactive session with stakeholders in Zamfara, Mailafiya said the number of children in school was confirmed through the state’s primary education assessment committee.

Presenting a paper at the event, chair-man of Kaura Namoda Local Government Area, Alhaji Lawali Liman, said out of the school age children that get access to primary schools, only 50 per cent of them complete their primary education and move to secondary schools.

“For those at the senior secondary school level, the outcome is measured through WAEC and NECO. And the appalling thing is that Zamfara always scores the lowest point both in WAEC and NECO, thus affecting the number of students who get admitted into tertiary institutions”, he said.

Liman said there are many factors that determine the quality of education, one of which according to him is the quality of teachers.