International charity, IA-Foundation, has expressed worry over the “distressing” figure of over 20 million children reported to be currently out-of-school in Nigeria.

Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Ibironke Adeagbo, in an interview on Sunday in Abuja, pleaded with the federal government to immediately rise to the challenge.

On September 1, UNESCO had released a research report that put the current figure of out-of-school children in Nigeria at about 20.2 million – the highest in the world.

But the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, had earlier on August 18, announced that Nigeria was turning the corner in its out-of-school crisis. He said that the number had dropped drastically in recent years from 10.5 million to about 6.9 million.

However, the issue has been a contentious one in recent times, especially with Nigeria’s profile as Africa’s top crude exporter and one of the continent’s biggest economies.

Poor implementation of policies, a persistent insurgency, especially in northern Nigeria, has exacerbated the out-of-school crisis, forcing many children out of classrooms.

(NAN)