Out-of school children: Oyo summons stakeholders for policy dialogue

THE Oyo State government is worried by the increasing rate of out-of-school children in Nigeria, especially in Oyo State.

It, therefore, organised through the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), and in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), Akure office, a two-day intensive policy dialogue with stakeholders.

The policy dialogue was to provide a forum for stakeholders to deliberate on what could have been responsible for the gradual decline interest of parents, guardians and children in formal and basic education, and to proffer solutions to the problems.

Participants at the event, which was held at the Kakanfo Inn, Ibadan, included delegates from the state Ministry of Education, representatives of  traditional leaders, religious bodies as well as corporate and non-government organisations drawn from the three senatorial districts in the state.

Oyo SUBEB chairman, Mrs Aderonke Makanjuola, in her address noted with dismay that the growing prevalence of child labour, child trafficking, and other forms of child exploitation had become a concern to the state government.

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This, she said, informed the policy dialogue meeting with stakeholders in order to analyse the constraints that keep large numbers of children out of school, and then to chart the directions of customised policies that would bring them to school.

Resource persons drawn from institutions and non-governmental organisations all argued that addressing the out-of-school children phenomenon is crucial to Nigeria’s efforts towards the realisation of the Education for All goals.

Former executive secretary, Universal Basic Education, Oyo State, Mrs Lucy Eniola and the chief executive officer, LUCY Employment Foundation, one the resource persons, attributed the problem of out-of-school children to increasing growth of children of school age without a corresponding increase in infrastructure development.

She also identified incessant strike among public school teachers, poor funding and nonchalance among parents towards the education of their children, among other factors.

She then called on every stakeholder in the sector to work together to effectively to address the problem.

Speaking in the same vein, Drs Olusola Adesina and R.S  Ganiyu, both from the Alayande College of Education, Oyo, stressed the need to create child-friendly schools, provide adequate funding and introduce several incentives into the system  that could attract out-of-school children to return to school.

Executive Director, Community Development Awareness and Health Empowerment Foundation (CDAHEFF), and chairman, School-Based Management Committee, Oyo State, Mr Samuel Okeowo, reiterated the importance of community-based organizations in the control of dropout or out-of-school children in the state.

UNICEF’s representative, Malam Muritala Muhammed, called on the state government to take the issue of out-of-school children with all seriousness, and commit adequate resources to addressing it.