The National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE) has documented about 700,000 out-of-school children across Nigeria, highlighting the scale of the country’s education challenge.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Executive Secretary of the commission, Dr Muhammad Idris, disclosed this during the maiden Benue Basic Education Summit in Makurdi. The summit was organised by the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), NCAOOSCE, and Universal Learning Solutions (ULS).
As part of efforts to tackle the problem, Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, launched the Brace-Up Project and inaugurated student marshals in all local government areas to help monitor and identify out-of-school children within their communities.
Alia reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ensuring free and compulsory basic education for every child, stressing that access to education is a fundamental right that must not be denied.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Hajiya Aisha Garba, commended Benue State for what she described as tangible reforms in its basic education sector.
In a related development, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said about 65,000 out-of-school children had been returned to classrooms through targeted education interventions.
Makinde made this known while receiving a World Bank and UBEC delegation on the BESDA-AF implementation support mission at the Executive Council Chamber, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
He said the Better Education Service Delivery for Additional Financing (BESDA-AF) programme had significantly strengthened the education sector in the state.
Makinde thanked the World Bank and UBEC for their financial and structural support and pledged that his administration would deploy the necessary resources to access funds allocated to Oyo State in the programme’s new cycle.
Earlier, the UBEC team lead and National Programme Coordinator, Mayowa Aleshin, said the delegation would assess the implementation of the BESDA-AF project, review challenges, and make further recommendations. He also commended the Oyo State Government for its strong support for the initiative.
Similarly, the World Bank team lead, Shinsaku Nomura, praised Makinde’s efforts to reform the education sector and expand access to quality education at all levels.
