Stakeholders in the education sector have revealed plans to stem the increasing number of out-of-school children through the finalisation of the national framework of action to eliminate the menace in Nigeria.
The stakeholders spoke on Monday in Lagos during a two-day “Stakeholder engagement for the finalisation and adoption of National Framework of action for addressing the out-school-children phenomenon in Nigeria.”
Speaking on the need for government at all levels to tackle the menace head-on, the Deputy Executive Secretary (Services), Universal Basic Education Commission, Dr Isiaka Kolawole, told The PUNCH that the battle to end the phenomenon required concerted efforts by all shareholders in the sector.
He said, “The Universal Basic Education Commission in partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund and other stakeholders in the education sector have been battling very hard to ensure that the number of out-of-school children is reduced to the very minimum. The last UNICEF figure was over 10 million for the country, which is far greater than what is seen elsewhere. It is not a figure that we can afford to live with as a nation, especially in the process of nation-building.
“We are doing our very best to ensure that this is addressed. It is not something that an intervention can handle alone. That is why all the stakeholders especially the state and local governments have the responsibilities, constitutionally, to tackle basic education to rise up to the challenges and I believe, we are making progress going in that direction.”
In his remarks, the Executive Chairman of the Universal Basic Education,Wahab Alawiye-King, who is also the Dean of SUBEB Chairmen, said, “As for Lagos, we have developed what is known as ‘Project Zero’. The state is kind of different in the sense that as we tried to mitigate the problem of out-of-school children, other things are militating against us daily.”
On her part, an educationist at the UNICEF in Nigeria, Mrs Azuka Menkiti, said the current out-of-school children had become worrisome for stakeholders in the education sector.
She said, “This figure by UBEC has given UNICEF a huge concern. 15 per cent of global out-of-school children are in Nigeria. Just like every other development partner, UNICEF is very much concerned about the fact that we are dealing with this huge number of children whose right to basic education has been eroded.”
