Today marks the International Day for Education, as declared by the United Nations. It is the first time such an international observance is being marked. With a focus on how to make the world a better place for everyone through education, this day reminds us of how we have fared in the education sector. In this post, presents you some statistics about the state of education in Nigeria. Of the 262 million children out of school children in the world, a majority of them totalling 13.2 million are in Nigeria. These are children who either never enrolled or did not complete primary school education. According to the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) jointly conducted by the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with agencies of the Nigerian government in 2015, the number increased from 10.5 million to its current figure as a result of various insecurity challenges in the country. The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Hamid Bobboyi said the situation had hampered socio-economic growth in the country, since the children affected do not benefit from educational programmes put in place for them. “If you add the number of children that have been displaced and the increasing number of birth, you find out that our source in DHS conducted by UNICEF published in 2015 reveals the number of out of school children increased to 13.2 million,” he said. “Over the last few years, Nigeria has been besieged by Boko Haram and lots of children have been put out of school. “This is equally affecting the implementation of some education treaties that Nigeria is a signatory to.” Child labour is still a major challenge in Nigeria. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2017 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), about 50.8 per cent of Nigerian children, ages between five and 17, are involved in child labour. The NBS conducted the survey in conjunction with other partners, including the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and UNICEF. Child labour refers to “work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children and deprives them of opportunities for schooling and development.” Of the children population by region, the North-Central region has the highest burden of child labour of 56.8 per cent followed by the North-West accounting for 55.1 per cent. South- South has 48.7 per cent; South-East 46.6 per cent, and South-West 38 per cent, respectively. UNICEF’s Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist in Nigeria, Mrs. Maureen Zubie-Okolo, described the situation as worrisome increasing the likelihood of the children engaging in crime. “The high level of diverse and tedious jobs that children execute in dangerous circumstances is particularly worrying. “These jobs include being street vendors, beggars, car washers or watchers and shoe shiners. “Others work as apprentice mechanics, hairdressers and bus conductors, while a large number work as domestic servants and farm hands. “These children who work suffer from fatigue, irregular attendance at school, lack of comprehension and motivation, improper socialisation, exposure to risk of sexual abuse, high likelihood of being involved in crime.” Data from the 2017 MICS also shows that most children lack access to early childhood education. Only one out of three children attends organized early childhood education programme in Nigeria, with more children in Southern regions than the Northern parts. The data also showed limited involvement of adults in activities that promote learning. “About two-thirds (62.8 percent) of the children have an adult household member engage them on four or more activities that promote learning and school readiness. “Involvement of biological father and mother in activities that support early learning is as low as 10.8 percent and 28.1 percent respectively.” Also, three in 5 children age 36-59 months are developmentally on track in at least three of the four early childhood development domains. One third of children were left with inadequate care either by being left alone or in the care of another child. Only 5.6 percent of the children involved in the survey live in households where there are at least 3 children’s books accessible to the child, the MISC also revealed. This is despite continuous claims by UBEC that it had achieved the one-book-per-child drive across Nigerian public schools. While the primary school completion rate in Nigeria is 63 percent, only 49% transit to secondary school. This implies that six in 10 children of primary completion age of 11 years are in the last grade of primary education. Gender parity for primary school is 1.00, indicating no difference in the attendance of girls and boys in primary school.