by Tunji Andrews

Indications have emerged that the primary school attendance ratio in Nigeria dropped by 2.3% between 20012 and 2014.

In a report published by the National Bureau of statistics titled 2014 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Survey Report and designed to track the Nation’s specific MDGs using specific indicators.

It will be recalled that the MDGs 2012 Performance Tracking Survey was the first attempt by Nigeria to objectively and specifically estimate MDG indicators. Of the indicators to track, is to ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling in Nigeria.

The school net attendance ratio according to their distribution by state was also captured, with the states with very high attendance ratios including Anambra (94%), Delta (92.8), Imo (90.7), Lagos (92), Ondo (92.4), Osun (91.6), Edo (91.0), Ekiti (93.6) and FCT(94.1) while the least were Bauchi (29.9), Sokoto (24.8), Yobe (23.7), Zamfara (37.8).

At the national level, the net attendance ratio was 61% in 2008 and it increased to 71% in 2012. In 2014, there was a shortfall of 2.3% and the net attendance for 2014 thus dropped to 68.7%. When classified by sectors, net attendance in the urban (84.3%) was much higher than in the rural areas (62.2%).

Across the geopolitical zones, it was very encouraging in the South East (90.5%), South South (88.1%), South West (87%) and North Central (80.2%). But in the North West (50.5%) and particularly North East (42.5%) net attendance was not impressive.

Although one hundred per cent enrolment and attendance are expected of children within this cohort, the achievement within the sub regions shows that Nigeria is on track of meeting the target.

Nationally completion rate, which is very important in Primary School education as it marks the beginning of transition to secondary school; in 2004 was 82%. It increased to 87.7% in 2012 and dropped to 74.0 in 2014.

Within the 2014, the completion rate was higher in the urban (84.4%) when compared with the rural (69.7). In the zones, completion rate was highest in South East (98.7%) zone, followed by South West (94.1%). Primary six completion rate was poorest in the North East (49.5%) zone.

The report also shows the shows the literacy rate of youth women between 2004 and 2014 at the national level. It increased from 60.4% in 2004 to 80% in 2008. In 2012, it declined to 66%.

Although it slightly appreciated in 2014 (66.7%), but that is insignificant. At the state level, literacy of youth women aged 15 – 24 was very encouraging in states like Rivers (98%), Enugu (97%), Imo (95%), Akwa Ibom (95%), Delta (94.1&), Anambra (93%), Ekiti (92.7%), Abia (91.3%). Conversely, literacy rate among woman of age 15 – 24 was poor in Sokoto (10.7%), Bauchi (13%), Yobe (16%) etc.

Sectorally, the survey showed that there were more literate youth women (85.3%) in the urban as against the 57.8% recorded in the rural areas. In the zones the literate youth women in the South East (93.5%) were much higher than the rest of the zones. North East (33.0%) and North West (35%) had the lowest percentage of literate youth women in 2014.

The ultimate goal of the MDGs is to lift and rescue nations from the scourge of poverty and hunger. Several studies have confirmed that children are more vulnerable to diseases, epidemic and some other socio-economic problems, than adults. Economic hard times are easily expressed in them.

This underscores the inclusion of underweight children indicator in the poverty and hunger eradication goal. Underweight in children is fundamentally caused by undernourishment. Undernourishment itself is very characteristic of a hunger – ravaged community. Underweight children indicator is an auxiliary variable that can be used to gauge the hunger situation of a country.

In the year 2008, the proportion of underweight children going by the national average was 23.1%. It went up to 27.4% in 2012 but declined to 25.5% in 2014. For lack of data, concrete trend cannot be established with this report.

Although Nigeria has attained the hunger target according to other reports, yet more interventions are needed not only for the under-five children but for their mothers in order to alleviate them completely from the scourge of hunger.

Kolapo Olapoju