In March, governors of the 19 Northern States of Nigeria met to eliminate secondary school fees in an effort to boost student enrollment. Governor of the Niger state and chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, Babangida Aliyu called education the bedrock of any development announced two further reforms: a “Grade 2 Teachers Training Programme” to improve teacher qualification and training in the region, and a resolution to harmonize fees among tertiary institutions. Aliyu also stated that a conference dedicated to addressing the region’s substandard educational performance would be held soon.
Northern Nigeria has fared worse than in other areas of the country as schools have felt the impact of Islamist attacks throughout the region. Those attacks have also deeply affected the local economy. Educating more students at the secondary and tertiary levels may represent steps toward economic recovery. Recent studies have shown that it is actually cheaper to educate children than keep them out of school. In the case of Nigeria, where 10 million children do not attend school, when those children enter the labor force in 10 years the country is expected to lose a full percent loss of GDP—around $3 billion. The northern states can assuage this loss by better preparing more students, steps they are taking with these resolutions.
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Written by Alex Leedom