Children out of school: 9 of top 10 countries in Africa

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

Nine out of 10 countries with the highest rates of children missing out on primary education are located on the African continent, a UNICEF report revealed on Thursday.

Moreover, Nearly two in every five children – 18 million in total – are out of school in the top 10 countries with the highest rates of children missing out on primary education, .

“Liberia is home to the highest proportion of out-of-school children with nearly two-thirds of primary-aged children not accessing school,” said a UNICEF press release. “The second highest is South Sudan, where 59 percent of children are missing out on their right to a primary education and one in three schools is closed due to conflict.”

Afghanistan is the only country in this top 10 not from Africa. The other countries are, in order, Eritrea (59 percent), Sudan (45), Djibouti, (43), Equatorial Guinea (42), Niger (38), Mali (36) and Nigeria (34).

The UNICEF data analysis highlights the “extent of an education crisis affecting countries already blighted by conflict, prolonged periods of drought, flash floods, earthquakes and high rates of extreme poverty.”

Funding gap

“Education continues to be one of the least funded sectors in humanitarian appeals. In 2015, humanitarian agencies received only 31 percent of their education funding needs, down from 66 percent a decade ago,” UNICEF said.

“Despite a 126 percent increase in education requirements since 2005, funding increased by just 4 percent.”

For Libya and Somalia, reliable data were not available, it said.