After six years in school, 50% of Enugu pupils can’t read in English or solve Maths — State Govt laments

The Enugu State government has lamented that 50% of pupils in the state cannot read in English Language nor solve basic mathematics questions.

This was stated by Chidiebere Onyia, secretary to the state government while delivering a keynote address titled: “Smart Basic Education and the Future of Africa” at the quadrennial convention of the Old Boys Association of Union Secondary School, Awkunanaw.

He said that the problem was uncovered during the state government's baseline audit of primary schools in November 2023.

“Our findings were shocking. After six years of primary school, 50 percent of our children cannot read a single word in English and those who can read struggle with comprehension,” he was quoted by TheCable.

He continued: “50 percent of our children cannot solve simple subtraction challenges. What we found out in Enugu state is written large across our nation.”

He said in Nigeria, 3 out of 4 children who completed basic education lacked numeracy and literacy proficiency.

“The World Bank, UNICEF and UNESCO have defined this as ‘the Nigerian Learning Crisis’. On top of this, our children suffer a “Skills Gap” because existing modes of teaching do not equip children with scientific, technological, productive and digital competences.”

According to Onyia, the state's education policy has been modified to include bio-digital technology, which will boost industrial growth.

He stated that this will be accomplished by incorporating creative technology into teaching, particularly at the elementary level.

According to Onyia, the governor of Enugu, Peter Mbah, is reforming the state's education system to meet international standards.

He added that the problems are being dealt with through well thought-out policies which include the introduction of smart school models across the 260 electoral wards in the state.

Onyia said the smart school model has new facilities such as centres for artificial intelligence, robotics and interactive smart boards — with priority given to “how teachers teach” and “how students learn”.