Chairman, National Population Commission (NPC), Mr. Sumu'ila Makama, says the 2010 education survey to be conducted by the agency will provide accurate data for planning various education programmes.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja that the survey would involve children from ages four to 16 years.

"The exercise will be useful for planning purposes, and equip the various education authorities with accurate data on the education sector.

"We will interview 790 households in each state, including FCT, to enable us to gather information about their academic levels," he added.

Makama said the survey would give information about households and children across the country.

He said the project would provide information about the number of children in schools, their needs as well as the number of drop-outs in the various states and local government areas.

Makama explained that the survey would help to ascertain the attitudes and commitments of parents and guardians toward their children's education.

"When children are absent from school, the information will enable us to know why they are absent, as well as the distance and time it takes for them to go to school," he said.

The chairman said the information would also enable relevant authorities to know the amount of money the households spent on children in various schools.

He said the survey was usually conducted soon after the National Demographic and Health Survey, adding that similar surveys were conducted in Nigeria in 1990, 1999, 2003 and 2008.

He said that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other donor agencies were funding the survey in Nigeria, Benin Republic, Ghana, Guinea, Malawi, Mali, Nambia, Uganda and Zambia.