review-of-the-literature-on-basic-education-in-nigeria-june-2014-3-1

Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in NigeriaA USAID-funded study (Boston University, 2009) found that primary attendance rates for OVCs arearound 60%, roughly in line with <strong>the</strong> national rate <strong>of</strong> 61%. OVCs, though, may be more likely to beabsent from school more <strong>of</strong>ten if <strong>the</strong>y have more responsibilities at home, need to earn income orprovide care, and are more likely to be ill <strong>the</strong>mselves (ibid.).The prevalence <strong>of</strong> OVCs is similar in rural and urban settings, although <strong>the</strong>re are significant regional andstate-level differences (Samuels et al. 2012).2.5.5 AbsenteeismIt is important to note that, although pupils may be reported in surveys as attending school,absenteeism is high. According to <strong>the</strong> 2010 NEDS only 80% <strong>of</strong> pupils on average attend all school days.Those who do not attend all days miss an average <strong>of</strong> 5.5 days per month at primary level and 5.1 days atsecondary level (NPC and RTI International 2011), which equates to around a quarter <strong>of</strong> school time.Absenteeism is similar for females and males but is higher in rural than in urban areas, for poorer thanricher children, and varies substantially by zone (e.g. 5% in <strong>the</strong> South West but 31% in <strong>the</strong> North East)(NPC and RTI International 2011).However, <strong>the</strong>se figures are likely to be an underestimation ei<strong>the</strong>r because parents may not knowwhe<strong>the</strong>r children have been absent from school (see Dunne et al. 2013) and/or because children maynot want to admit to having been absent from school if <strong>the</strong> reason is not perceived as legitimate, i.e.when playing truant. On <strong>the</strong> days when USAID’s EGRA and EGMA assessments were carried out in asample <strong>of</strong> primary schools across Bauchi and Sokoto states, 30% <strong>of</strong> public school pupils in Bauchi wereabsent and 60% were absent in Sokoto (USAID 2013 b & c). Rates <strong>of</strong> absenteeism were slightly lower in<strong>the</strong> IQTE schools in <strong>the</strong> sample (ibid.)In addition, <strong>the</strong> observed tendency for pupils to drift away from school in afternoon shifts, on marketdays and/or from unfenced schools, as reported in smaller, school-based qualitative studies (e.g.Boulton et al. 2009; UNICEF 2009a; Dunne et al. 2013), also raises questions about <strong>the</strong> actual amount <strong>of</strong>time pupils who are technically attending school are actually in school.Absenteeism is important both because children are inevitably not engaged in formal learning when notin school but also because absenteeism is <strong>of</strong>ten a precursor to dropping out (Lewin and Sabates 2011).2.6 DropoutsDropout rates, as defined in <strong>the</strong> 2010 NEDS, are <strong>the</strong> percentage <strong>of</strong> children in a grade <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> previousyear who are not now attending school (NPC and RTI International 2011). Analysing 2008 NDHS data,<strong>the</strong> national study on OOSC (UNICEF/UIS 2012) estimates that while 5% <strong>of</strong> primary school-age childrendrop out <strong>of</strong> primary, <strong>the</strong> proportion <strong>of</strong> JSS-age dropouts is 20%.The 2010 NEDS shows that primary school dropout rates are fairly low and concentrated among Primary6 students. The study on Nigeria’s OOSC argues, however, that one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> reasons dropout is relativelylow is because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> high number <strong>of</strong> children out <strong>of</strong> school in <strong>the</strong> first place (UNICEF/UIS 2012). Even so,according to <strong>the</strong> 2010 NEDS, dropout rates for Primary 6 have improved since 2004, falling from anoverall level <strong>of</strong> 17% to 11% (NPC and RTI International 2011).Dropout rates are less than 0.5% for Primary 1 to 5, but are 11% for Primary 6 (NPC and RTIInternational 2011). However, <strong>the</strong> 2010 NEDS report also points out that this much larger figure is alsolikely to include ‘push outs’, i.e. pupils who ordinarily would have gone on to JSS had <strong>the</strong>re been anadequate supply <strong>of</strong> secondary schools. The report supports this hypo<strong>the</strong>sis by pointing out that <strong>the</strong>dropout rate is substantially higher in rural areas, where <strong>the</strong> supply <strong>of</strong> JSSs is much sparser. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rhand, under 10% <strong>of</strong> all dropouts (albeit across <strong>the</strong> grade spectrum) cited <strong>the</strong> inability to attend a JSS as aEDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 20