In conjunction with literacy, primary education is vital to successful development vis-à-vis focusing spending on basic education, as demonstrated by John Page in East Asian Miracle.” As observed in the figure below, primary “The education attendance is heavily dependent on income and residence. Survival (be it working or searching for food), especially in rural sectors of Nigeria, takes priority over education and thus much of the rural labor force is uneducated. Similarly, inequities in income distribution are reflected in primary education attendance. Nearly 83 percent of Nigeria’s most wealthy population attended primary education institutions (as of 2003) in comparison to merely 40 percent of the poorest Nigerian peoples; on average, 60.1 percent of children enrolled in primary schools (as reported by a 2003 Demographic and Health Survey). According to the same survey, 63.7 percent were male and 56.5 percent were female. Of the primary institutions that children attend, many are in a state of disrepair; there are about 2,014 primary schools in Nigeria with no buildings, having lectures held under trees. Primary education enrollment rates need to improve in order for the rising population to have access to a better future. Unfortunately higher rates will be hard to attain unless children are able to stop worrying about working and caring for their family, at the expense of their schooling. Secondary school enrollment rates in Nigeria provide a gloomy picture; the 2003 DHS (Demographic and Health Survey) survey indicates a total secondary school attendance of 35.1 percent, 37.5 percent for males and 32.6 being females. The data confirms the trend observed in primary education enrollment rates, where male presence is dominant.
In conjunction with literacy, primary education is vital to successful development vis-à-vis focusing spending on basic education, as demonstrated by John Page in “The East Asian Miracle.” As observed in the figure below, primary education attendance is heavily dependent on income and residence. Survival (be it working or searching for food), especially in rural sectors of Nigeria, takes priority over education and thus much of the rural labor force is uneducated. Similarly, inequities in income distribution are reflected in primary education attendance. Nearly 83 percent of Nigeria’s most wealthy population attended primary education institutions (as of 2003) in comparison to merely 40 percent of the poorest Nigerian peoples; on average, 60.1 percent of children enrolled in primary schools (as reported by a 2003 Demographic and Health Survey). According to the same survey, 63.7 percent were male and 56.5 percent were female. Of the primary institutions that children attend, many are in a state of disrepair; there are about 2,014 primary schools in Nigeria with no buildings, having lectures held under trees. Primary education enrollment rates need to improve in order for the rising population to have access to a better future. Unfortunately higher rates will be hard to attain unless children are able to stop worrying about working and caring for their family, at the expense of their schooling. Secondary school enrollment rates in Nigeria provide a gloomy picture; the 2003 DHS (Demographic and Health Survey) survey indicates a total secondary school attendance of 35.1 percent, 37.5 percent for males and 32.6 being females. The data confirms the trend observed in primary education enrollment rates, where male presence is dominant.
Nigeria%20Background%20Report.docx