Variation in Educational Attainment Levels: Statistical Evidence from The Nigeria Demographic Health Surveys (2008, 2013 and 2018)

Abstract

This study focuses on the existent wide and varying disparities in the level of educational pursuit which cut across gender, geographic locations and economic divide globally. The understanding of this, contributes to the equitable distribution of educational amenities, and to the accurate measure of socio-economic, and human capital development. This study explores the Thiel’s index and the geographically weighted regression, (which are veritable tools for assessing regional disparity indices), in describing the Nigerian context using data from the National surveys of 2008, 2013 and 2018. The study findings reveal a decline in educational attainment status in the Northern region compared to their southern counterpart especially in the North-West. It also reveals an increase in the number of uneducated persons and a growing number of “Out-of-school” children over the years 2008, 2013, and 2018