EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Educational attainment refers to the highest level of education completed (e.g., a secondart school leaving certificate or equivalency certificate, OND or HND, a bachelor’s degree, or a master’s degree). Educational attainment is a powerful predictor of well-being. Individuals who have completed higher levels of education are more likely to achieve economic success than those who have not.

In addition to qualifying one for a broader range of jobs, completing more years of education also protects against unemployment. In addition, higher levels of educational attainment often lead to higher wages and income. Adults with higher levels of education also report being in better health and having higher levels of socio-emotional well-being. They are also less likely to divorce, or be imprisoned.

Research data shows that the higher the level of a woman’s educational attainment, the fewer children she is likely to bear. Given that fewer children per woman and delayed marriage and childbearing could mean more resources per child and better health and survival rates for mothers and children.

For the purpose of this survey, we ranked the states according to how proportion of their female population that had not completed primary school education, which is still 3 years short of the compulsory 9 years of formal education as stipulated in Universal Basic Education policy.