The number of primary and secondary students enrolled in both public and private schools in Nigeria dropped by over 4.3 million pupils/students in 2016, as compiled from the most recent education statistics report released 16 February 2018 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The public Early Child Care Development Education had a reduction of over 1.9million in the number of enrolled pupils from 4.67million in 2015 to 2.69 million in 2016. 1.36million of the kids were male while 1. 33million were female, as compiled from the statistics report.
Similarly, 1.46 million enrolled for private Early Child Care Development Education in 2016 as against 2.08 million in 2015, accounting for 618,959 decline in the number of enrolled pupils. 734,726 of the kids were male while 722,735 were female.
The private primary school also had a reduction in the number of pupils that were enrolled in them in the same period under review as over 1.42 million decline was recorded from 4.65 million in 2015 to 3.24 million in 2016. Out of which, 1.63million pupils were male while 1.61 million were female.
The junior secondary school was not any different from the primary school, as it recorded a decline of 351,304 students, from 6.18 million in 2015 to 5.84million students enrolled in 2016.
4.79million of such students enrolled in public junior secondary schools while the remaining 1.05 enrolled in private junior secondary schools.
The class room teachers were not left out in number reduction, as there was a decline of primary school teachers by 24,847, from 567,380 employed in 2015 to total of 542,533 primary school teachers employed in 2016. Meanwhile, 283,051 of such teachers were male while 259,482were female.
Although there was a record of increase in both public primary school and the senior secondary school.
The public primary school was up by 1.57million, from 20.79 million in 2015 to 22.35million in 2016. But yet again the male pupils were higher than the female as the male stood at 11.80 million while the female was 10.55million pupils.
Similarly, 4.48 million students enrolled in Senior Secondary Schools in
2016 as against 4.15 in 2015, a 325,956 students increase in the comparable period.
3.56 of such students enrolled in public senior secondary schools while the remaining 911,561 enrolled in private senior secondary schools.
Africa’s most populous nation, home to about 186million inhabitants is the largest exporter of crude oil in the continent and it is the largest economy in the region.
The nation emerged from its worst economic contraction which led the country deep into five consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.
It had since experienced a positive economic trajectory in the second quarter of last year resulting from a global increase in the price of crude oil and the relative peace in the oil- rich Niger Delta also led to the increase in production of its main exporting product.
Although the question that needs urgent attention is how this growth has impacted on the general economy and of course the nation’s education sector.
