One in four Nigerian girls out of school – UNICEF
Afuwai said poverty forced some families to keep their daughters out of school, while insecurity and learning environments compound the problem The post One in four Nigerian girls out of school – UNICEF appeared first…
UNICEF has long flagged Nigeria as home to one of the world's largest populations of out-of-school children, with girls disproportionately affected due to a mix of economic, security and cultural factors. The UN agency regularly works with Nigerian federal and state governments on interventions such as the Girls' Education Project and other school-feeding and scholarship schemes aimed at closing the gender gap in enrolment, particularly in the North-East and North-West, where insurgency and banditry have repeatedly forced school closures.
The latest UNICEF statement, attributed to its official Afuwai, points to poverty, insecurity, unsafe learning environments and harmful cultural practices — such as early marriage — as the key drivers keeping girls out of classrooms. Both Vanguard and Tribune Online report the same core figures and causes, though neither outlet's excerpt specifies the exact data source, state-level breakdowns, or what new measures, if any, government agencies plan to take in response.