Out-of-School Children: UNICEF advocates integration of school feeding, WASH into education planning

From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi

As a sure way to address out-of-school children across the country, United Nation Education Fund (UNICEF) have advocated the integration of school feeding, nutrition screening, water and sanitation facilities, and child protection services into education planning to strengthening enrolment and retention

Nutrition Specialist and Officer-in-Charge of UNICEF Enugu Field Office, Mrs Ngozi Onuora, stated this at the Benue State Basic Education Summit in Makurdi themed “Innovative Strategies For Addressing the Challenge of Out-of-School Children: Strengthening Enrolment And Retention In Basic Education.

Onuora who harped on multisectoral innovative strategies for better results saying evidence consistently shows that school-based nutrition interventions improve attendance, concentration, and completion rates.

She said “At UNICEF, we recognize that education and nutrition are inseparable pillars of child development. A child who is hungry cannot learn. A child who is malnourished cannot fully concentrate, retain knowledge, or thrive in school. Therefore, when we speak about out-of-school children in Benue State, we must also speak about the conditions that prevent children not only from enrolling but from staying and succeeding in school.”

She noted that while Benue state is home to over 464,000 IDPs, a significant proportion of the children are facing disruption not only to their education, but also to their nutrition, protection, and overall well-being.

The UNICEF officer noted when education systems are overstretched, and when families are struggling to meet basic needs, children, especially girls are at heightened risk of dropping out permanently.

She called for a systematic identification and mapping of out-of-school children, particularly in displacement-affected communities, integration of learners from IDP camps into host communities with adequate infrastructure and safety measures.

She also called for community engagement to promote enrolment and sustained attendance especially for girls among others.

Onuora, who was represented by the Education Specialist, Unicef Enugu Field Office, Mr. Believe Eke, expressed UNICEF commitment to partner the Benue state government through the establishment of temporary learning spaces, teacher capacity building, and the provision of essential learning materials while supporting learning continuity in emergency contexts.

She said the launch of the Brace-Up Project by the Benue state Universal Basic Education board is both timely and strategic as it offers an opportunity to combine strong data systems with community mobilization, targeted interventions, and sustained financing to bring children back to school and keep them there.

In support of these efforts, UNICEF will provide 400 school-in-a-box kits each containing 42 essential teaching and learning materials sufficient for 40 learners and one teacher as well as 2,000 exercise books to facilitate enrolment and participation of identified out-of-school children.

“No child should have to choose between food and education. No child should lose their future because they have lost their homes. To truly strengthen enrolment and retention, we must address the whole child mind, body, and protection.

Benue State Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia said his administration has demonstrated strong political will and invested heavily in the training of the Benue child.

Governor Alia name the recruitment of over 9000 teachers, renovation of over 400 classroom, building of over 300 toilets, provision of white board as well as text and work books across the schools in the state among other incentives.

The Chairman of Benue State Universal Basic Education Board, (SUBEB), Grace Adagba said the Alia goveenment took over schools marked by poor infrastructure, inadequate teachers training, poor WASH among others. She expressed joy that her boss has lifted the face and fortune of education in the state through several interventions adding that the intervention has raised school enrolment to over 40 percent since assumption of office.