Stakeholders Demand Political Will Against Out-of-school Children

Stakeholders in the education sector have called for strong political will and consistency in tackling the out of school children (OSC) menace in Nigeria.
They made the call yesterday at the national conference on out of school children in Nigeria, held in Abuja. Declaring the conference open, the minister of education, Adamu Adamu, noted that Nigeria’s education is too strategic and too sensitive to be left in the hands of the government.
The minister who was represented by the Federal Ministry of Education director of basic education, Dr Folake Davies, called for review of approaches to addressing the OSC scourge. Adamu challenged all stakeholders to bring to bear greater courage to reposition basic education in Nigeria.
“The federal government has made significant investment in the sector and provided quality education in response to our developmental needs.
“The ministry has taken steps to strengthen inter-agencies programmes that target OSC phenomenon. We plan for the open school programme that will help OSC to access learning opportunities. There is therefore need for all and sundry to show commitment towards the success of addressing the phenomenon for better outcomes,” he added.
The chairman House Committee, Prof Julius Ihonbere, identified political will, consistency in policy delivery as major factors needed to addressing the out of school menace in Nigeria.