Geographical analysis of gender disparity in out-of-school children in Nigeria

There are over 10 million children of primary school age out-of-school in Nigeria. Thus, school non-attendance is still a major problem in the country. A few studies have been done to understand the causes. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of studies that have examined the gender variations in out-of-school children (OOSC) and the underlying predictors across the country. Investigating the gender dimension of school non-attendance will enhance gender specific policies as the causes of school non-attendance are likely to vary between gender and across states or regions. To this end, this study conducts a spatial analysis to determine the geographical differences in OOSC, the hotspots of OOSC, and the underlying predictors using spatial statistical techniques. Contrary to the widely held opinion, findings indicate that more boys are out-of-school than girls. Across the country, the northern region accounts for a significant percentage of OOSC. The state-level analysis shows that Bauchi State is the hotspot for male school non-attendance while Sokoto, Kebbi, and Niger States are the hotspots for female school non-attendance. Evidence from the spatial analysis indicates that poverty is a significant predictor of OOSC majorly in the northwest and northeast regions of the country. The study recommends the need to alleviate poverty to improve school enrolment and the expansion of back-to-school programs for out-of-school boys.