Thread by @fimiletoks

Let's talk about this out of school kids and unemployment. We cannot discuss this data in isolation. we have to look at our population growth, school age, labour age, employment requirements and educational system.
@toluogunlesi @OgbeniDipo @jeffphilips1 @DrJoeAbah

Politics aside, we have to discuss how we can build this nation. Most of these indices are systemic. Our minimum labour age is pegged at 18 years but we have a system that requires constantly demand for a University degree with a masters equivalent.

How do we ensure that 18 year olds become gainfully employed in this country. As long as citizens continue to attain this 18 year benchmark, they add to the number of unemployed. We continue to aggregate this figure until they are 25 or 26. Our population growth rate is alarming.

We have an educational system that makes Junior secondary school student unemployable. The school and labour system should groom those who want seek employment after JSS or SSCE. University degrees cannot solve our problems, it is not the norm in most developed countries.

Employers now require absurd qualifications for basic. China is positioned to be the largest economy in the world but less than 20% of its citizen have higher education. They have a target of 20% by 2020. University and post graduate degrees will not drive our economy.

We must find a way to provide basic education, make is compulsory and ensure it count.
We also have a serious issue as regards population explosion. One must give way for the other. Build schools and recruit teachers to catch up or find a way to drop population growth.

Our population is highly dynamic, school age starts at 6 years in Nigeria. Millions of kids attain this age every other day, those born years before any new political dispensation so enrollment performance will always be dependent on birth rate. We reproduce like chickens..

If our birth rate remains high, enrollment efforts must double this figures else we will have significant deficits.
How is our education structured? It is on the concurrent list. We have to decide whether as a country, we can continue putting education on the concurrent list.

we have to brace up to the fact that education has become a federal project and can no longer be left to the whims and caprices of the state who do not care.
Russia has education on the exclusive list, Canada and US has both federal and state governments involve in education.

Should the FG fund basic education directly through the LGAs ?
Who gets the blame for poor performance? Peter Obi yesterday credited himself for the outstanding performance of Amambra students on national exams, will he share the blame for out of school kids ?

How do we fund education? Quality education like healthcare can never be cheap, it can only be made affordable. Even when it is free, tax payers bear the cost. Will Nigerians risk debt on education when job offers aren't certain? Will they rather choose not to be educated?

We must discuss these issues. There are no solutions outside these parameters.

Please pardon my typos