Out-of-school children: Don calls for activation of education officers, formation of neighbourhood alert group

A professor of Education Management, Olumuyiwa Adeyemi, has called for the activation of education officers and formation of neighbourhood alert groups to monitor and reduce the number of out-of-school children as well as child’s labour.

Adeyemi, while delivering the 112th inaugural lecture of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, recently, noted that the issues of out-of-school children and child labour could only be achieved if the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act is implemented and enforced.

Speaking on the topic,’Reversing The Tragedy of Universal Basic Education Implementation in Nigeria,’ Professor Adeyemi insisted that the appointment of education officers with the purpose of apprehending children found  roaming and hawking during school hours should be recreated.

“The abandoned practice of appointing Education Officers has become a major gap in the provisions of the UBE Act and the administrative process of its implementation over the years, hence, the reason for the lackadaisical attitude of parents to the docile administrative process of the government.

He also suggested the creation of the a Neighbourhood Alert Group (NAG), which would complement and work in conjunction with the Education Officers to provide information on the out-of-school children or those involved in child labour.

“The NAG, being close to the people in their neighbourhood, would be able to gather firsthand information on such occurrences and practices. As a matter of fact, NAG members can be equipped to serve as advocates for the UBE programme in their respective locality,” he added.

He equally canvassed for the implementation of School Improvement Collaborative Strategy (SICS) towards the provision of facilities and enhanced school performance for the UBE scheme.

Professor Adeyemi hinted that his practical approach to the SICS, which had experienced failures by way of implementation under the UBE scheme, had earned him commendations from the Ogun State government and Ministry of Education.

“The UBE programme at its inception adopted the partnership/collaborative approach calling for the involvement of all stakeholders with the slogan ‘Education for all is the responsibility of all. However, failures have been recorded by way of implementation,” he hinted.

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