Nigeria accounts for one out of every five out-of-school children in the world and 45 per cent of out-of-school children in West Africa, the minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamma, has said.
This is just as the Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, said his administration’s investments in the education system have continued to improve public school enrolment in the state.
The minister and Governor AbdulRazaq spoke in Ilorin, Kwara State on Wednesday at the official launch of the National Campaign on Out-Of-School Children and distribution of school materials to selected out-of-school children (OOSC) in the state.
Tahir said, “This ranking is disturbing and unacceptable for a country regarded as Africa’s largest economy.”
The minister, who was represented by Dr Olatunji David, said the federal government is mindful of the danger of the out-of-school children phenomenon and urged all key stakeholders, including civil society organisations, and community and religious leaders, to act fast in checking the trend.
“Stemming the tide of out-of-school children is a task that this government seeks to accomplish. This is because we are mindful of the spiral effects of having a large number of uneducated population.
“One of the implications is that Nigeria will constantly produce miscreants who are ready tools in the hands of criminal gangs,” he said.
The minister appealed to all good-spirited individuals within the state to aid the less privileged in communities by adopting the children and youths who are of school age and supporting their education.
He praised Governor AbdulRazaq for his government’s commitment to changing the fortune of education in the state.
Earlier, AbdulRazaq had said that the government birthed an e-learning system in basic schools to impart digital skills and improve learning outcomes while boosting the capacity of teachers for maximum service delivery.
“The introduction of the e-learning system by our government to our schools through the establishment of digital literacy centres and KwaraLEARN innovative teaching techniques in education, as well as the school feeding programme have not only reduced the pressure on the parents but also increased enrolment and motivated the pupils/students to be regular in the school,” according to the Governor who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Alh Mahe AbdulKadir.
AbdulRazaq said the government will double down in pushing policies and programmes that will continue to make the learning environment attractive and ensure that no Kwara child is left out of school.
The governor described the step to eradicate out-of-school children in Nigeria as unique and thanked the Federal Ministry of Education for picking Kwara as one of the first states to benefit from the national programme.
“It is my sincere hope and aspiration that the overall target of this campaign will lead to an improved enrollment of school children and eradicate the menace of out-of-school children in our society,” he said, urging parents to key into the initiative.
The chairman, Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Prof Sheu Adaramaja, said the pride of any society depends largely on the structure, status and achievement of its basic education, acknowledging the exemplary commitment of Governor AbdulRazaq to the sector.
He said the administration has invested so much in school infrastructure and human capital development, and in the welfare of teachers and non-teaching staff to motivate higher productivity in schools.
He appreciated the governor for doing so much to turn around the basic education in the state, saying history will never forget him.
