August 12, (THEWILL) – The Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu, on Thursday expressed concerns over the alarming rise of out-of-school children in the country.
Adamu, who stated this at the ongoing 65th National Council on Education (NCE) meeting in Jalingo, with the theme, “Eradicating Out-Of-School Children Phenomenon: A Tool For The Achievement Of Education 2030 Agenda,” also emphasised that the mayhem must be tackled immediately by all those concerned.
The Minister also revealed that going by the survey conducted by the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF), Nigeria ranks too among other countries with out-of-school-children.
Adamu, who was represented by Chukwuemeka Nwajiwuba, pegged the figure at about 10.1 million.
According to him, “Aside from other fundamental factors such as poverty, cultural and religious beliefs, the recent occurrences in the country’s education system such as kidnappings of pupils/students, increased insurgence and general insecurity in schools have fueled some of the factors responsible for the present situation.”
Moving forward, Adamu stated that: “For the government and stakeholders to record a landmark achievement, the education system would require a total overhaul in provision of a safe and secured environment for learners and teachers among others.”
Adamu said the Federal Government had launched Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) being piloted in 17 states of the Federation to tackle the menace.
He also noted that the government is also establishing more schools and doing everything to improve the welfare of teachers among other measures to curtail the ugly trend.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Engr. Haruna Manu, Governor Ishaku, in his response, said his administration had given priority to education by employing 3,000 rescue teachers, which, he noted, had since changed the performance of students in examinations for the better.
He also enjoined all Nigerians to put their shoulders to the wheel in order to tackle the situation once and for all.
THEWILL reports the weeklong meeting was attended by the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Pauline Tallen, education commissioners from the 36 states, among others.
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