Academic Implications of Uncorrected Refractive Error: A Study of Sokoto Metropolitan Schoolchildren

BACKGROUND: The Sustainable Development Goal 4 ensures that all children have an inclusive and equitable quality education. However, uncorrected refractive errors (UREs) have been a major cause of limitations with regard to quality education as vision plays a vital role in child learning and development. Thus, any problem affecting the child's vision could adversely affect the quality of the child's education. AIMS: The aim of this research was to assess the quality of education of the children with URE in Sokoto metropolis, Sokoto State, Nigeria. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of schoolchildren in four randomly selected primary schools within Sokoto metropolis was carried out from July 2016 to October 2016 using the illiterate “E” chart and a pinhole. Relevant history and basic ocular examinations were done using a multistage sampling technique. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) version 20. RESULTS: A total of 113 students were surveyed; 56 (49.6%) males and 57 (50.4%) females. The age range was between 5 and 15 years, and the mean age was 10.89 ± 2.27 years. The prevalence of URE was 9.7%, with more than half of the students within the age group of 10–12 years (P = 0.018) and more common in females (54.5%) than males (45.5%) (P = 0.775). More than 90% of the respondents had never had a prior eye examination. The average mean academic performance of the pupils with URE (49.54% ±10.49%) was statistically significantly lower than those without refractive error (71.08 ± 10.09), mean difference = 21.55 (95% confidence interval, 15.18–27.92) (t = 6.70, P = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: The negative implications of URE on the quality of education and other socioeconomic aspects of life underscore the need to increase efforts on its screening and increase other relevant interventional measures.