Adult education critical in tackling out-of-school children phenomenon – Mamman, Sununu
Education Minister, Prof.Tahir Mamman, and the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, have said that the most potent way of tackling out-of-school children phenomenon is to give more attention to adult education, emphasising that educated adults are more prone to educating their children.
Director, Press and Public Relations, Ben Bem Goong, said the duo were unanimous on the need to tackle adult illiteracy, stressing that adult illiterates constitute the fountain from which out-of-school children keep flowing.
Speaking at a briefing with the leadership of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non Formal Education (NCME), Education Minister, Mamman, said, said one of the fundamental ways to deal with the ever-increasing number of out-of-school children is to educate parents, adding that an educated parent is more likely to educate his/her child.
Mamman identified funding, advocacy and commitment as key elements necessary in tackling the menace of adult illiteracy.
The minister directed the leadership of the commission to furnish his office with the current number of adult illiterates in the country, their location and strategies for taking them off that shelf.
Aligning with the minister on the same page, Minister of State for Education, Sununu, emphasised that adequate funding was critical in raising the literacy level of the country.
Sununu wondered why the commission has been removed from the funding envelope of the annual national budget, promising that he would take up the matter with his colleagues at the National Assembly.
The minister of state explained that the commission is not revenue yielding agency, but the provider of a critical national service.
Briefing the two ministers earlier, the Director General of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non Formal Education, Prof Simon Akpama told them that investment in the adult education subsector has the potential of not only improving the overall literacy level of the country but will also drastically reduce the number of out-of-school-children in Nigeria.
