The biggest football festival in the world is going on right now in Russia with different countries representing and millions of dollars expended from their individual country treasury, huge sum they can’t invest in education.
To get people to join any conversation at this moment, you must use sport language, especially if your country is representing. Luckily for us in Nigeria, we are one of Africa’s representative to the mundane.
Our opening game was yesterday with Croatia and we were beaten 2-0. We are in group D with Argentina, Iceland and Croatia but now come with me to the Education Report Card between Croatia and Nigeria.
EducationSystem
Croatia: compulsory for 8 years from age 7-14.
Nigeria: compulsory for 9 years from age 6-14
Pre-primary enrollment
Croatia (age 3-6) 63%.
Nigeria(age 5) 42% Available figure (2010)
Primary school completion
Croatia: 97%
Nigeria 64%
Student-teacher ratio
Croatia: 14 in primary, 7 in secondary. Nigeria: 37 in primary, 23 in secondary.
Literacyrate for 15-25-year-olds
Croatia: 100%
Nigeria: 66%
ISSUES AND REFORMS
Croatia: The government promised earlier this year to make education reform a priority – accepting that a system launched a decade ago needed shaking up.
Nigeria: Boko Haram’s reign of terror has devastated the education system in the northeast. Almost 1400 schools have been destroyed, over 2295 teachers killed and three million children need emergency support on education.
STAR (Inspiring) FACT
Croatia: Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren donated £60,000 ($80,000) to the Mali Zmaj (Little Dragon) organisation in Zagreb, which aims to improve the quality of life for poor children.
Nigeria: Chelsea winger Victor Moses was playing football in the street at the age of 11 when his parents were murdered. Family members paid for him to go to England a week later as an asylum seeker.
Nigeria next match is on Friday with Iceland, we’ll bring you the Report Card.
