| Nigeria Economy |    925 VIEWS  |
| Nigeria Economy | |
| 925 VIEWS | |
 | |
| PROSHARE | |
| PROSHARE | |
Friday,
December 18, 2020 / 03:40 PM / by NBS / Header Image
Credit: Premium Times
Background
In
April 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), with support from the
World Bank, launched the COVID19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey (NLPS); a
monthly survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,950 households to
monitor the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic and other shocks. The first
round (baseline) of the survey was conducted in April/May 2020, during which a
federally mandated lockdown was in full effect. The government began lifting
restrictions in June and by the time the sixth round was conducted between
October 9- 24, 2020, there were minimal restrictions on movement within the
country.
This
brief presents the findings from the sixth round of the Nigeria COVID-19 NLPS.
The sixth round of the NLPS had two key innovations. The first innovation was
to collect specific information on education for up to six school-aged
household members (5-18 years). This allows for more detailed individual-level
analysis of schoolaged household members, making it possible to (1) verify the
trends from previous rounds that were reported for all children collectively
(rather than individually) and (2) examine differences in school attendance and
engagement in learning activities across key individual characteristics such as
sex and age. The second innovation was to ask households directly about their
perceptions of and willingness to engage in testing and vaccinations for
COVID-19.
Summary
Education Situation Of School-Aged Household Members (5-18 Years Old)
In
October 2020, fewer school-aged household members were attending school
compared to January/ February 2019. In October 2020, schools in some states
were yet to reopen. The share of male schoolaged household members who attended
school was almost 17 percentage points lower in October 2020 than in
January/February 2019, while the share of female school-aged household members
who attended school was around 14 percentage points lower. The drop in
attendance was larger in urban areas (25 percentage points lower) than in rural
areas (12 percentage points lower).
The
main reason that school-aged members did not attend school in October 2020 - reported for 57% of those who were not attending school - was that schools were
still closed due to the coronavirus restrictions. Yet of those who were not
attending for this reason, almost all (99.9%) are planning to attend school
after their schools reopen. Additionally, around 27% of those school-aged
household members in the oldest age group (15-18 years old) who were not
attending school reported that the main reason for nonattendance was that they
were awaiting admission. This may reflect the fact that older school-aged
individuals rely on further academic testing and administrative procedures
before progressing between grades or switching between schools, which in many
cases were delayed by the COVID-19 crisis.
Although
school closure is the main reason why school -aged household members were not
attending school across all consumption quintiles, lack of money is the remains
an important reason among individuals from the poorest households (16% of those
not attending). Those school-aged household members who report that they are
currently awaiting admission predominantly come from the richest households
(27% of those not attending), perhaps reflecting the better prospects for
higher levels of educational attainment for individuals from richer households.
Individual-Level Dynamics Of School Attendance
In
order to track individual-level dynamics of attendance, the charts below
examine attendance for a sample of household members that were school-aged in
January/February 2019 and October 2020 (roughly 7- 18 years old in October
2020). Of this sample, about 50% were attending school both in January/February
2019 and in October 2020, while around 29% reported attending school only in
January/February 2019 but not in October 2020. Of those who were attending
school in January/February 2019 but not in October 2020, around 63% (19% of the
whole sample) reported that closure of schools was the main reason for their
nonattendance and 25% (7% of the whole sample) reported that the main reason
was that they were awaiting admission.
There
were some important gender differences in how school attendance evolved between
January/February 2019 and October 2020. A larger share of female school-aged
household members (12%) were not attending in both January/February 2019 and
October 2020 compared with male school-aged household members (9%). Yet a
smaller share of female school-aged household members (27%) than male
school-aged household members (31%) were attending in January/ February 2019
but were no longer attending in October 2020.
There
were also large differences in the evolution of school attendance across
different age groups. The oldest age group (those aged 15-18 years) were the
most likely to not be attending in both January/February 2019 and October 2020
(19% of this age group). The oldest age group were also more likely to have
stopped attending over this period, with 34% of them having attended school in
January/February 2019 but not in October 2020. This may, once again, reflect
the effect that the COVID-19 crisis is having on the procedures needed to
progress through higher grades. Yet it may also simply be that many older
school-aged members passed the 9 years of mandatory schooling required in
Nigeria between 2019 and 2020.
Engagement in Learning Activities
Around
55% of school-aged household members have been engaged in education or learning
activities at some point since mid-March, meaning that 45% of school-aged
household members have not engaged in any education or learning activities over
this period. This emphasizes the importance of helping children catch up for
the time they missed at school. School-aged female members were slightly more
likely to have been engaged in any learning activities (57% compared to 53% of
males), although the share was consistent across age groups. School-aged
household members in urban areas and in the richest consumption quintiles are
more likely to have participated in learning activities than school-aged
household members in rural areas and in the lowest consumption quintiles, which
could widen preexisting education gaps between the rich and the poor
Vaccination And Testing
The
vast majority of respondents reported that they were willing to get tested for
and vaccinated against COVID-19, if such services were free. Almost 90% of
respondents answered "Yes" when asked "If you could get tested for free for the
COVID-19 virus, would you be willing to get tested?". Additionally, 89% of
respondents answered "Yes" when asked "If an approved vaccine to prevent
coronavirus was available right now at no cost, would you agree to be
vaccinated?". Respondents in urban areas are more skeptical towards a possible
vaccine against the COVID-19 virus: 14% of urban respondents would not agree to
be vaccinated (even at no cost) compared to 8% in rural areas. Out of those who
would not agree to be vaccinated, 32% indicate that the main reason is because
they do not think it would be safe, and 31% say they do not consider themselves
to be sufficiently at risk of contracting COVID19.
Employment and Income
While
the share of respondents who were working remained stable in October 2020 (at
87% of respondents), the sixth round of the NLPS provides further evidence that
income remains precarious for many households. Of the 84% of households that
operated a non-farm enterprise at any point in 2020, around 22% were not
operating their businesses in October 2020. The vast majority of these non-farm
enterprises that are currently closed had been open at some point since the
start of the COVID-19 crisis, indicating that businesses that may have, at some
point, resumed operations were not viable enough to continue. If household
income continues to be precarious, this may limit the investments households
are able to make in education and health services for their members, even if
schools fully reopen and the government supports more testing and vaccination.
Related Links
Related News
Signup with Facebook
Signup with Twitter
