THE Universal Basic Education Commission and State Universal Basic Education Boards have agreed to restrategise and adopt innovative mechanisms for tackling the challenge of high number of out-of-school children in the country.
Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children, with estimated 10.5 million school-age children roaming the streets.
UBEC’s Head of Public Relations and Protocol Unit, Mr Ossom Ossom, in a statement in Abuja, said the focus of the 17th quarterly meeting of the commission’s management with the executive chairmen of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and SUBEBs, which was held recently in Bauchi State, was to adopt what he called a ‘mop-up’ strategy in dealing with the syndrome.
He said arising from growing concerns about the increasing global attention on the out-of-school phenomenon in the country, the three-day meeting was convened to appraise current trends and fashion out indigenous mechanisms for increasing access and ensuring quality of UBE delivery as key to addressing this challenge.
The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, represented at the event by the Minister of State for Education, Professor Anthony Anwukah, said the meeting was apt, having sufficiently aligned with the first pillar of the Federal Ministry of Education’s Strategic Plan 2016 to 2019, which is to address the out-of-school phenomenon in Nigeria.
UBEC’s executive secretary, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, also noted that the last quarterly meeting held in Jos, Plateau State, in October 2016 afforded basic education managers the opportunity to underscore the importance of strategic planning and its crucial role in enhancing effective delivery of basic education.
Bobboyi further noted that the management of UBEC and SUBEBs all over the country had committed themselves to developing medium-term basic education sector plans before the end of the first quarter of 2017.
He emphasised the need for concerted action towards addressing issues connected with girl-child and Boy-child education, as well as strategies for attracting and enhancing Madrasa Education (almajiri education) in Nigeria as a means of curbing the out-of-school menace.
The communique issued at the end of the meeting, among other things, observed that the large number of out-of-school children in Nigeria was a negative factor in the nation’s quest to realise the objectives of the UBE programme.
Accordingly, it recommended that education stakeholders at all levels should prioritise interventions that are geared towards attracting and retaining school-age children in basic education programme.
According to the statement, the chief executives of the National Teachers Institute (NTI) and National Commission for Youth and Adult Education (NMEC), other high- profile federal and state government functionaries as well as education service providers also participated in the three-day meeting.
Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, who also doubles as the commissioner for education, Nuhu Gidado, who declared the meeting open, reiterated the state government’s commitment to the development of education in the state.
He highlighted some of the efforts in this regard to include capacity building for teachers, provision of instructional materials and renovation of infrastructural facilities in the state.
He lauded UBEC’s efforts and commitment to addressing issues relating to out-of-school children, and also expressed optimism that the resolutions that would be taken at the meeting would go a long way in repositioning basic education in Nigeria for the overall benefit of the Nigerian child.
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