Sunday 20 October 2013

Nigeria’s illiterate adults’ population worries World Bank

The World Bank has expressed concern at the growing population of illiterate adults in Nigeria, which has been put at 46 million. The figure puts Nigeria in the category of 10 countries of the world with more than 10 million illiterate adults whose ages range from 15 years and above.

The bank stated this in a document packaged for its State Education Investment Project, which would provide $150 million credit facilities to Anambra, Bauchi and Ekiti states, in collaboration with the Federal Government.
It said poverty was still significant in Nigeria despite the nation’s strong economic track records and that addressing the trend would require strong non-oil growth and a sustained focus on human development.
It added that Nigerians “are relatively poor, with about 46 percent of the population living in absolute poverty and there is high inequality.”
The document added that “Nigeria still faces considerable human development challenges, with poor human development indicators, high regional disparities, and huge pockets of extreme poverty, ranked 156 out of 187 countries on the Human Development Index”
Speaking at the formal inauguration of the State Education Investment Project in Abuja on Friday, the Acting Country representative of the World Bank, Mr. Sateh El-Arnaoyi, noted that Nigeria could only ensure a sustainable growth with massive investment in education.
The country’s university gates have been closed since July 1, 2013 when lecturers embarked on an indefinite strike to protest poor infrastructure and non payment of their allowances.
El-Arnaoyi also said the SEPIP was designed to address issues of mobilising resources for human capital development, compulsory basic education, teacher deployment, and accountability aimed at complementing the programmes and priorities of the three participating states.
He said the World Bank finance of $150 in credit would be made available to the Federal Government, which will in turn disburse to the participating states to support their educational development.
He said the states were selected through transparent criteria, reforms, adherence to World Bank projects, political commitment to reforms, fiscal responsibility act and geo-political spread.
Minister of Education, Ezenwo Wike, said the implementation of the project would be closely monitored by his ministry. He commended the World Bank’s role in advancing the cause of qualitative education in Africa.



Culled from The Punch

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