By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
As the world commemorates the fourth International Day of Education, Save the Children calls on the government to ensure inclusive, equitable quality education that promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
SCI said it requires the Nigerian government’s fulfillment of the commitment H.E. President Mohammadu Buhari made at the Global Education Summit (GPE) (2021) to increase education funding to 14% by 2022, 16.7% in 2023, 20% by 2024, and 22.5% by 2025.
“Education is no doubt at the heart of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. It is a singular act that is needed to reduce inequalities (Goal 10), reverse cycles of intergenerational poverty (Goal 1), and improve health (Goal 3) as well as the vehicle to achieve gender equality and eliminate child marriage (Goal 5).
“It is high time the government and all stakeholders prioritize education as a public good; support it with cooperation, partnerships, and funding; and recognize that leaving no one behind starts with education.
Save the Children’s report on education (2017) in Borno State “Turning Education Around: Responding to the Crisis in Borno State” revealed that, one of the key drivers of the conflict in Borno was the pre-existing crisis in education.
“Over the years, especially in northeast Nigeria, schools cannot cater to the high demands of out-of-school children due to lack of adequate funds, technical capacity, and loss of infrastructure, materials, and teachers’ lives because of insurgency.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a pre-existing education crisis while reliance on digital technology for learning has deepened exclusion and gender inequalities. There are more children out-of-school now in northeast Nigeria than before the insurgency.”
Meanwhile, in some other parts of Nigeria, schools do not have the technical capacity to support physically challenged, marginalized, or minority children. Funding remains a challenge to the education system across the board.
Ms. Mercy Gichuhi, Country Director, Save the Children International (SCI) Nigeria said, “Children constitute a great number of the world population and they are the future of the society. The worst option is to see a generation of children and young people who lack the skills they need to compete in the 21st-century economy or leave behind half of humanity. The prize of non-providing the necessary skills to the leaders of tomorrow is a catastrophe.”