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An international charity, IA-Foundation has mobilised eminent Nigerians, to generate national and global awareness on the consequences of having millions of children out-of-school in the country.
Founded by Mrs Ibironke Adeagbo, the United Kingdom-based Charity Organisation made this clarion call during an Out-of-school children summit in Lagos recently, themed Street To School: A Panacea to Menace.
According to the Founder it’s time to apply a practical, proactive, and pragmatic approach to changing the narrative of Nigeria, having one of the highest numbers of “out-of-school” children in the world.
“One out of 5 out of school children is in Nigeria. Unesco says Nigeria has 20.2m children out of school, which give or take is 10% of our population. If this does not keep you awake at night, I wonder what does?
This menace should be a burning platform and no longer business as usual. Together we shall strive to make a difference that will help change the current trajectory. Ironically, one of the reasons we have higher out-of-school children is because we have more children of the elite being out-of-country children. So, those that can make the necessary changes are not bothered,” she asserted.
Calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s led government, Adeagbo said she was excited when the bill to penalise parents for not sending their children to school passed first reading.
“We now have a new government that seems to be education friendly and seems to have the political will. I was over the moon, when the bill to penalise parents for not sending their children to school passed first reading. I felt our advocacy thematic strategy was paying off after all. The education crisis in Nigeria is one that requires urgent, collective, and concrete action to surmount. The reality is that the crisis is not just about marginalised ‘out of school’ children, but also about children who are in school and not learning, due to lack of resources both at home and at school.”
Furthermore, while reassuring the commitment of IA-Foundation in helping achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 of ensuring that quality education becomes a reality for the millions of children in Nigeria, Ibironke Adeagbo announced the expected launch of IA- App.
“WIth your support, we believe it will give us the leverage to positively impact the lives of these children. AI Foundation is topical in the education space, as a social investor and social innovator which plans to use technology to support the right educational outcomes and therefore make huge impact on the next generation of working-class Nigerians and ensure a better future for every Nigerian child. Watch out for our IA- App that will be launched in March 2024.”
