Digital Literacy and Out-of-School Children in Nigeria

Abstract

This article explores the Education for All (EFA) and Sustainable Development Goal 4 which declared that access to basic and quality education for all children and young adults is a right, and not a privilege. In spite of this declaration, more than 15million Nigeria children and young adults are out-of-school and remain illiterates. This menace poses threat to security architect and economic growth of the country. Hence, the need for digital literacy as an alternative educational platform to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Four research questions were raised to guide this study. A descriptive research design of survey type was adopted for this study. Simple random sampling technique was used to sample 110 respondents from Egbeda local government area, Oyo State, Nigeria. A self-structured questionnaire was used to generate data. The demographic data and research questions were analyzed using frequency counts and percentage. The finding of the study revealed that out-of-school children exists in Nigeria. It was revealed that out-of-school children is caused by death of one or both parents, divorce, poverty or low income, absence of free education, hunger and gender discrimination. Finally, the finding revealed that digital literacy has positive impact on the reduction of out-of-school children in terms of accessibility, learning opportunities and attainment of education for all. The study therefore recommended that digital literacy through mobile learning enhances critical thinking, innovations, cognitive development, emotional stability and mental growth of the child, which should be developed to complement traditional mode of learning. The study concluded that digital literacy is a potent weapon in reducing the number of out-of school children in Nigeria for achieving sustainable development.

Suggested citation

, Teslim Opeyemi Oloyede (2025). Digital Literacy and Out-of-School Children in Nigeria Scientific Journal for Technology Management, Information & Artificial Intelligence, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.69798/76780466

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