Supplementary written evidence submitted
by the Department for International Development
At the International Development Committee's Oral
Evidence session on DFID's programme in Nigeria on 16 July, I
said that I would provide the Committee with the detailed economic
analysis conducted for the design of the Growth, Enterprise, and
Markets in States programme. A copy of the analysis is enclosed
with this letter.[17]
I also said that I would try to provide you
with details of the number of children in Nigeria who are in state
schools or otherwise receiving free education.
Nigeria's 2004 Universal Basic Education Act
requires all State Governments to provide access to free Universal
Basic Education at primary and junior secondary levels—free
access to nine years of good quality schooling for all children
between the ages of six and 15 years.
Progress on achieving this has been slow. The
Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2009 estimates that
8 million primary aged children are out of school and that net
enrolment in primary education is 63%. Nigeria is estimated to
have the world's largest number of children who are not enrolled
in school.
Federal Government figures from 2005 indicate
22.267 million children were enrolled in primary education in
Nigeria at that time. However, as noted by Eamon Cassidy at the
Oral Evidence session, data on education (as in many other areas)
are extremely poor. No national figures have been published for
school years after 2004-05, and the 2005 figures are likely to
be heavily flawed due to the return of incomplete questionnaires,
lost data, inconsistencies, and low response rates, particularly
from non-government schools. There are no figures for the percentage
of children that are enrolled in government and non-government
schools.
Timely, reliable data on basic education are
fundamental to planning and management in the sector. Starting
from this November, Nigerian States will be responsible for conducting
an Annual School census which will allow for comparable data at
State level and nationally. The DFID-funded Education Sector Support
Programme In Nigeria (ESSPIN) is supporting the strengthening
of Education Management Information Systems (EMIS), with dedicated
national and international technical assistance working at both
federal level and in the 5 States where the programme operates.
It will take a number of years until comprehensive,
quality data is available across all States. This will be a particular
challenge in States where a high proportion of children attend
non-government schools, for instance, religious schools in the
North, and the estimated several thousand unregistered private
schools in Lagos.
I would be very happy to answer any further
questions the Committee may have, and look forward to reading
your report on DFID's programme in Nigeria in due course.
Gareth Thomas
Minister of State
17 Growth & Employment in States (GEMS) Technical
Annex, DFID Nigeria, April 2009-Unprinted paper. Back
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