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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
In its resolve to tackle the root causes of out-of-school children in Nigeria, the federal government has revealed that it is engaging with experts and policymakers around the world to discuss innovative approaches to resolve the menace bedevilling the country.
Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on the School Feeding Programme, Yetunde Adeniji, made the disclosure after the recently concluded seminar in London organised by the Education Team of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on out-of-school children.
In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja, Adeniji, who was represented at the event by Mr Oyewumi Oyedokun and his team, noted that the aim of the seminar was a review mechanism for best practices to learn about successful interventions that have been implemented in other countries.
The statement disclosed that the SSA’s team, who engaged with experts and policymakers from around the world, discussed innovative approaches to tackling the root causes of out-of-school children.
“The team revealed that Lesley Drake also shared Nigeria’s experience with implementing the school feeding programme which has been successful in increasing school attendance, improving the nutrition of children, employment opportunities and also creating a big agricultural value chain and many more.
“They also highlighted the challenges faced in reaching out-of-school children while discussing potential solutions to overcome these obstacles.
“They further stated that the seminar provided valuable insights and inspiration for the SSA to the President on School Feeding on how to continue to work towards ensuring that every child in Nigeria has access to education and adequate early nutrition while expressing determination to make a difference in the lives of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
“The seminar, which aimed to address the issue of children who are not attending school and explore potential strategies to ensure that all children have access to education, was attended by Honourable Commissioners for Education from Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa states,” the statement read.
It was also attended by academics like Lesley Drake from Imperial College University, Malami Buba, and Hadjiza Kere Abdulrahman of Lincoln University, among others.
