10m Nigerian Children Are Out Of School – Minister

• “You will agree with me that there is little to celebrate if a single child is absent from school rather than studying in the classroom.

Nigeria has the largest number of out-of-school children in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to Minister of State for Education Chukuemeka Nwajiuba.

Mr Nwajiuba said this at the launch of Jigawa Government’s Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) in Dutse.

“Nigeria has the largest number of out-of-school children in Sub-Saharan Africa, with an estimated 10,193,918 children.

“In order to effectively resolve these challenges, we must improve the standard of basic education in Nigeria by addressing the factors that deny our children access to basic education,” the minister said.

To that end, Mr Nwajiuba urged stakeholders to improve education quality by addressing factors that prevent children from receiving a basic education.

He claimed that the current problems facing the country’s educational system leave much to be desired.

Read Also: JUST IN: Tanzanian President John Magufuli Dies

According to him, the BESDA program aims to improve the lives of all children by increasing equal access for out-of-school children, enhancing literacy, and strengthening accountability for outcomes at the primary level in the focus states.

The initiative, according to the minister, focuses on 17 states, including all 13 states in the North West and North East geographical regions, as well as Niger, Oyo, Ebony, and Rivers.

He explained that the states were chosen based on the prevalence of out-of-school children in the region.

“Permit me to state here that the BESDA program went into operation on January 22, 2018, with the start of federal implementation processes.

“At the federal level, all key activities to kick-start adoption of the program by target states have been completed.

“As a result, each beneficiary state is required to begin implementation in accordance with the program’s particular steps and guidelines.

“In this respect, ensuring that out-of-school children return to school and learn is critical.

“Learning is not just a moral and legal duty, but also a fruitful investment that will secure our children’s future and ensure that their rights, as enshrined in the Child’s Right Act of 2003, are protected,” the minister said.

Jigawa Governor Muhammad Badaru said that in order to improve equal access and quality delivery in the basic education sub-sector, he has focused on teacher recruitment, with 1,393 teachers hired in 2018.

Mr Badaru stated that screening for the recruitment of 4,000 teachers on J-teach was still underway.

He reported that his administration had installed and renovated 6,679 classrooms since 2015, as well as purchased 5,963 teacher furniture, 185,086 three-seater set pupil furniture, and 1,922 double-deck beds.

“In our primary schools, we have also built 634 hand pumps, 254 staff rooms, 4,746 toilet cubicles, 8 hostels, 516 Islamiya blocks, and six admin blocks,” the governor added.