Nigeria, May 8 -- Despite boasting a literacy rate of 96.43 per cent (the highest in Nigeria) according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the highest in women literacy rate with 83.5 per cent (as reported by Statisense), and a 1 per cent out-of-school rate as reported by UNICEF Education Fact Sheet 2023, Imo State still faces a paradox. It produces a substantial number of university graduates annually, yet a significant proportion remains unemployed. In 2020, NBS reported that Imo had the highest unemployment rate in the country at 48.7 per cent. These statistics indicate a stark disconnect between its impressive educational output and available economic opportunities.

This educational-economic disparity stems from the long-sta...