The Secretary to the Enugu State Government (SSG), Chidiebere Onyia, has disclosed that recent findings show that 50 per cent of pupils in the state can neither read in English nor solve simple mathematics questions.
Naija News reports that Onyia made this known on Thursday in Enugu, while delivering a keynote address titled, “Smart Basic Education and the Future of Africa” at the quadrennial convention of the Old Boys Association of Union Secondary School, Awkunanaw.
The SSG said the shortcoming was discovered in November 2023 when the government conducted its Baseline Assessment of primary schools in the state.
Onyia also expressed concern that the current teaching mode does not equip the pupils with scientific, technological, productive, and digital competencies.
He said, “Our findings were shocking. After six years of primary school, 50 per cent of our children cannot read a single word in English and those who can read struggle with comprehension.
“50% of our children cannot solve simple subtraction challenges. What we found out in Enugu State is written large across our nation.
“The World Bank, UNICEF, and UNESCO have defined this as ‘the Nigerian Learning Crisis’.
“On top of this, our children suffer a “Skills Gap” because existing modes of teaching do not equip children with scientific, technological, productive, and digital competencies.”
The SSG, however, said that the state government education policy has been repositioned to incorporate bio-digital technology that would drive industrial growth.
He said Governor Peter Mbah had taken deliberate steps to reform the education system to meet the changing global demands.
He added, “In Enugu State, we now believe that in addition to providing continuous training and professional development to teachers within the school systems, we must also transform how teachers teach, as well as how students learn.”
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