Nigeria provides free, government-supported education, but attendance is not compulsory at any level, and certain groups, such as nomads and the handicapped, are under-served. The education system consists of six years of primary school, three years of junior secondary school, three years of senior secondary school, and four years of university education leading to a bachelor's degree. The rate of secondary school attendance is 32% for males and 27% for females. In 2004 the Nigerian National Planning Commission described the country's education system as "dysfunctional." Reasons for this characterization included decaying institutions and ill-prepared graduates
