The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said that 30 per cent of Nigerian girls aged 15 to 19, who should still be in school, are currently married.

The UNESCO added that only 14 per cent of girls from low-class families in the country completed primary school, while only 27 per cent of boys did so.

The United Nations agency gave these statistics in a release signed by its Communication and Information Sector Officer, Yachat Nuhu, ahead of the inauguration of the Nigeria 2017/2018 Global Education Monitoring Report meant to call the attention of the Federal Government to its responsibility of providing universal quality education for boys and girls.

The statement said, “In Nigeria, 30 per cent of girls, aged 15 to 19, are currently married and only 14 per cent of poorest females complete primary education, while 27 per cent of poorest males do so.

“The attendance rate among three to four years old is over 80 per cent for richest children and no more than 10 per cent for the poorest. There are no regulations of formal and informal private tutoring, which the report finds, can exacerbate inequality in education, and damage learning if teachers are tutoring their same students after class.”