In Nigeria, laws and policies such as the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act 2004, Child Rights Act 2003, and National Policy on Education (2013), guarantee every child’s right to free and compulsory education.
However, despite all these policies, UNICEF data shows that there are approximately 18.3 million out-of-school children in the country, 10.2 million at the primary school level and 8.1 million at the junior secondary level.
This data raises questions on the efficacy and implications of these laws and policies.
Shortcomings in Nigerian Educational Policy
Unfortunately, these policies have substantial gaps. For instance, the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act 2004 advocates for free education at primary and junior secondary levels but excludes pre-primary and senior secondary Nigerian students.
This is obvious in Section 2(1) of the Act which states, “Every government shall provide free, compulsory and universal basic education for every child of primary and junior secondary school age.”
According to Senator Suleimon A. Adokwe, this exclusion of senior secondary students negates the very rights of the Nigerian children and it forecloses the rights of millions of Nigerians to contest for any electoral office in Nigeria.
In addition, higher education lacks similar support; however, recent policies have introduced student loan schemes.
The Students Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, of 2023, signed into law recently aims to provide interest-free loans to indigent students through the Nigeria Education Loan Fund.
This Act allocates 1% of taxes, levies, and duties from federal agencies, 1% of profits from oil and minerals, and education bonds to fund the programme.
The Quest for Education in Rural Nigeria
Yet, stories of young Nigerians like Isaac and Femi reveal a substantial gap in these policies, particularly in rural communities like Esa Oke in Osun State, where poverty creates additional barriers to education.
Isaac’s story through the Nigerian education system exemplifies the daily strife that characterises rural Nigeria, where people have to struggle between schooling and survival.
He is a 22-year-old student currently studying for a degree in English and Literary Studies at Federal University Oye-Ekiti, despite struggling with finances.
Having grown up in the rural town of Esa Oke, Osun State, Isaac has had all his life characterised by a flurry of financial burdens with which he had to support his family, a reality that has only heightened since he arrived at the university in 2021.
“As a child, I spent every day working on my father’s farm to ensure we had food on the table and education was always something I had to fight for,” Isaac recalls while speaking to The Jurist Newspaper on a Friday in September 2024.
Survival: Farming is a Costly Necessity, not a Choice
The farmland of Isaac’s father
Like many in Esa Oke, his family relies on farming. It has been the means of survival for Isaac and his family as far as he can remember, and it is a very important part of his life.
He had to balance studying with long hours of work on the farm. This necessity of family support for farming activities is common in Esa Oke, whose inhabitants depend mainly upon yam, cassava, and palm oil farming for their earnings.
He said, “During my secondary school, every moment after classes was spent on the farm because that’s where we got food, There was no other way we were going to eat.”
According to Isaac, spending a lot of time on the farm hinders him from taking advantage of opportunities that many of his peers enjoy, such as extra lessons or learning a skill.
“Every semester break, I always resume at the farm to assist my ageing father where I spend 7-8 hours doing farming work like palm oil production
“Sometimes I feel frustrated when I see my mates on my way from the farm. They post how they have been learning one thing or the other. Meanwhile, I can’t leave farming because that is our livelihood.
“I know the financial constraints have been there since and no one is coming to take it away from anywhere. No one to fall back on. My parents are growing old already. I cannot put pressure on them. Therefore, I will have to work and acquire enough money to further my studies,” Isaac told The Jurist.
Financial Constraints, Poverty and Limited Opportunities in Esa Oke
Most residents in Esa Oke are young people. City Facts‘ 2015 data shows Esa Oke had approximately 16,839 residents, with 11,426 being youth and children.
Many of these promising young people have had challenges of financial constraints that discouraged them from pursuing their dreams.
For instance, Femi, Isaac’s friend in Esa Oke, who had not been able to further his studies, told The Jurist Newspaper, “I obtained Edo Poly form, got the admission, but dropped out because of financial constraints and limited since 2020. I am planning to go back when I get enough money from the fashion work I’m doing, but it’s not blooming yet.”
According to a 2023 study on multidimensional poverty in Osun State, many households face severe deprivation in education, health, and living standards. This is especially true in rural areas such as Esa Oke.
These deprivations culminate into inadequate infrastructure, the need for children to work to support their families, low quality of life, and informational asymmetries.
In a 2023 report, lack of finance was mentioned as one of the reasons young people are not in school in Osun State.
For Isaac, the systemic nature of these challenges is clear: “I know the financial constraints have been there since, and no one is coming to take it away from anywhere,” he lamented.
The only means for Isaac to get funds in Esa Oke is farming because it is the most profitable business there.
Isaac`s Struggle in the University
At the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, financial constraints still cast a thick shadow on Isaac even though he is now 46.6 miles away from Esa Oke.
His story affirms the recent study conducted in South East Nigeria on how financial stress affects the performance of students.
“Assuming I don’t have issues with financial provision, there is nothing that would stop me from graduating with a first-class,” he said while lamenting it has been studies, work and survival for him.
Despite the demands of his studies, he has undertaken a shoemaker apprenticeship to financially support himself on campus.
At a point, he quit shoemaking because it was not yielding the immediate profit he needed for survival, but what he opted for cost him his academic success.
“There was this work too I stumbled on in 300 level which made me quit shoemaking apprenticeship then because learning doesn’t yield immediate profit and I needed to survive the present to fight for the future. So, I venture into helping people to do their assignments.”
“I did a set of assignments close to the examination period, I believe it cost me to have a C in my result. Those times I was busy doing them, I could have ventured into reading. But then, I would have read with an empty stomach,” he said.
Despite the difficult circumstances, Isaac remains determined to succeed. “One thing I always believe is that no matter what it takes, I’m going to get there,” he said with determination in his voice.
He also acknowledges that his academic excellence is crucial to getting out of poverty.
“Despite my financial constraints, I know that if I can excel academically, there would be an opportunity outside there. And unless I excel academically for that opportunity to open, there is no way things can change,” he said.
When asked if he knows about the Nigeria Education Loan Fund and whether he would like to collect a student loan, he said “I will rather hustle to pay my school fees rather than take a loan I won’t know how to pay back.”
Isaac is on track to graduate with a second-class upper from the Department of English and Literary Studies at The Federal University Oye-Ekiti while pushing for a first class.
Isaac on his dad’s farm.
Broader Implications
Isaac’s determination for a first-class degree is only a typical manifestation of the will for a decent life, which only pushes one to carry on despite the challenges that have been systemic over time.
This is the same thinking that goes through the minds of thousands of Nigerian students who see education as their only escape route from abject poverty.
Coach Faith Oluwatade, a lecturer at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, exposes the broader societal implications of this issue.
“The far-reaching consequences include a brain drain effect, where talented youth are forced to abandon their dreams due to financial hardships, hindering socio-economic growth”
“Financial constraints can trap young people in poverty, limiting their educational and community development prospects. Ultimately, this results in lost opportunities for economic empowerment and social mobility, perpetuating a cycle of financial exclusion that threatens the future of our youth,” he said.
He further added that governments, organisations, and individuals must collaborate to provide accessible scholarships and financial aid, and policy reforms to tackle this challenge.
