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Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has launched a new initiative, tagged, ‘Building Rights to Access and Compulsory Education for Un-enrolled Pupils’ (BRACE-UP) as part of efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children in the state.
The launch coincided with the maiden edition of the Benue State Basic Education summit held at the Moses Orshio Adasu University College of Health Sciences auditorium in Makurdi. The event was organised by the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE) and Universal Learning Solutions (ULS).
At the summit, the National Union of Teachers (NUT), led by its National President, Audu Amba, presented Governor Alia with a Golden Award for Education and Teacher Friendliness in recognition of his administration’s efforts to revitalise basic education.
Governor Alia said the BRACE-UP project was designed to ensure that no school-age child in Benue is left out of the classroom. He noted that since assuming office, his administration had constructed and rehabilitated over 400 classrooms, established 36 libraries, supplied digital and non-digital library equipment, recruited and deployed over 9,000 teachers and maintained consistent salary payments while implementing a harmonised retirement age for teachers.
Student Marshals from the 23 local government education authorities were also inaugurated to monitor out-of-school children in their communities.
Former governor of the state, Gabriel Suswam, who chaired the occasion, commended the administration’s strategic approach to revitalising basic education.
Executive Chairman of Benue SUBEB, Dr Grace Adagba, presented the governor’s scorecard, stating that the achievements align with the three national UBE priority pillars of Access, Quality and System Optimisation.
She highlighted the construction and renovation of 422 classrooms, building of 36 libraries and two hostels, provision of whiteboards and furniture, teacher recruitment and training, automation of payroll systems and establishment of digital literacy facilities.
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UBEC Executive Secretary, Hajiya Aisha Garba, also commended the state government’s efforts and used the occasion to flag off the Learners Support Programme nationwide, donating 38,700 school kits to Benue State for distribution to underserved children.
Similarly, NCAOOSCE executive secretary, Dr Mohammad Sani Idris, handed over a database indicating that Benue has 16,310 out-of-school children, while the national figure stands at 700,000. In response, the state government immediately enrolled 500 out-of-school children into various primary and junior secondary schools and provided them with uniforms.
Private sector and development partners also made donations, including 500 solar school bags from Fidelity Bank, 2,000 exercise books from UNICEF, and literacy materials from ULS.
Traditional rulers, including the Tor Tiv, James Ayatse and the Och’Idoma, Elaigwu Odogbo, pledged the support of traditional institutions in addressing the out-of-school children challenge.
Keynote speaker and former Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, Professor Sagir Abbas, called for systemic, evidence-based and equity-driven strategies to improve enrolment and retention in basic schools.
Other dignitaries at the summit included the Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Alfred Emberga Berger; Secretary to the State Government, Deaconess Selumun Aber and several education stakeholders.
Governor Alia reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to delivering accessible, quality and technology-driven basic education, expressing optimism that the BRACE-UP initiative would significantly reduce the incidence of out-of-school children in the state.
