Growing Through Education in Nigeria

IMF Blog, June 24, 2019

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A survey conducted by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics finds that a girl born into a Nigerian family in the poorest fifth of society spends about 1 year in school.
That 1 year is described as approximately a third of the already limited schooling enjoyed by, say, her brother.
Access to education improves as a family gets richer, but gender inequality in education is entrenched and barely disappears for the richest 20 percent of households.
Closing gender gaps in education across all income groups is projected to boost GDP by 5 percent in one generation.
The same reform is projected to lower income inequality by 2¼ points as measured by the Gini coefficient.

Addressing educational gaps yields rapid and large benefits for children, their families, communities, and the country more broadly.
Adequate funding for teachers and schools is necessary to raise the quality of education.
Investments beyond the classroom—such as safe access to water and sanitation facilities—improve health and therefore learning opportunities, and give an extra boost to school attendance.
Mobilizing revenue is critical to fund education and complementary investments; examples cited include comprehensive VAT reform and improved tax administration.

Increase resources and enact structural changes to improve access to education and make it more equitable.
Ensure adequate funding for teachers and schools to raise education quality.
Invest in water and sanitation facilities to improve health and school attendance.
Mobilize additional revenue through measures such as comprehensive VAT reform and improved tax administration to finance education and related investments.
Advance legal reforms that require few additional resources but shape priorities, for example:
- Passing into law the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill.
- Implementing a Children’s Rights Act.
These legal changes would put equality of opportunity on the statute books and are expected to have a positive impact for generations to come.

Vivian Malta and Monique Newiak — June 24, 2019