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The call by the Federal Government on stakeholders, individuals and philanthropists to support out-of-school children in the country get back to school should be heeded by concerned Nigerians and corporate bodies. The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, who made the call at the inauguration campaign on out-of-school children in Minna, Niger State, observed that the country still had high rate of out-of-school children.
According to the minister, Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children in sub-Saharan Africa, with the figure estimated at over 10 million. Earlier, the number of out-of-school children in the country was put at 13.5 million with almajiri street kids constituting 72 per cent of the figure. Out of the 17 states of the federation that are more afflicted with the menace, 13 of them are in the north. To bridge the gap, Nwajiuba appealed to wealthy Nigerians to ensure that all children, especially indigent ones within the communities, are given support and sponsorship in their various vocations to achieve a better, reliable and safer society.
On the side of the government, Nwajiuba noted that the ministry has set up an action plan to identify school age children who are not in school and ensure their enrollment in both formal and informal learning centres closer to their homes. The minister also explained that the children would be supported with some basic school materials to help them remain in school, complete and transit to higher levels of education. The call by the minister is in order. In a 21st Century world, where emphasis is placed on education, science and technology, no nation can develop with millions of its children not enrolled in school. Therefore, every effort should be made to get the children into the school system. Those who can go to normal schools should be encouraged to do so, while those who are not keen in academic programmes should be provided with vocational skills.
There is no doubt that the actual number of out-of-school children in the country is higher than the official figures. More than calling on individuals to tackle the menace, the federal government and affected states should synergise and come up with effective learning programmes for the affected children. Any action in this regard should be monitored to ensure that the initiative does not go the way of previous efforts.The move by the government to revisit the agenda is commendable. There is need to ensure that the programme is pursued with vigour and a sense of urgency. Let realistic strategies be put in place to make it work seamlessly. The federal and state governments must ensure that all Nigerian children are enrolled into the system. On no account should any Nigerian child be left out. Nigeria’s education sector is abysmally funded. With a paltry 7.9 per cent of its 2022 national budget for education, which is far below the United Nations recommended 20 per cent for member states, the future of education does not look so bright, particularly for the out-of-school children. It is becoming clearer now that government alone cannot fund education, hence the need for private sector participation.
The step by Niger State, which once had the highest number of out-of-school children at 513,963 in the North Central region but has now reduced the figure to 298,192 through interventions such as school feeding programme and other initiatives, is commendable. We enjoin other states to emulate the Niger State example.
Individuals and corporate organisations should be also involved. Philanthropists can adopt some of the children and see them through their training period. We commend the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for adopting two out-of-school children for rehabilitation. Other governors and wealthy Nigerians should follow suit and reduce the number of kids in the streets. Given that some of the children may not be keen to return to the school, incentive packages should be provided for them to do so. Government needs to reinvigorate the school feeding programme. More enlightenment campaigns should be carried out in the affected states to make the parents of the out-of-school children allow them to be in school. Tackling the challenge of out-of-school children should be prioritised. Addressing the crisis will reduce the tendency of the children being recruited by terror groups.
The Universal Basic Education Act 2004 aims at addressing issues as this, with its provision of a compulsory and free basic education for six years and minimum three years of junior secondary schooling. The Child Rights Act also stipulates that a Nigerian child shall be in school up to the secondary level. The affected states should take note of this and reduce the number of children who are outside the school system.
