From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse
The Federal Government has put the country’s out-of-school children at over 10 million, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.
Minister of State for Education, Chukuemeka Nwajiuba made this known at the launch of Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) by Jigawa Government in Dutse.
“With an estimated 10,193,918 children out-of-school, Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children in Sub-Saharan Africa. For us to address these challenges adequately therefore, we must strengthen the quality of basic education in Nigeria by confronting head-on those factors that deny our children access to basic education.”
Nwajiuba said stakeholders should strengthen the quality of education by addressing factors that deny children access to basic education.
He noted that the current challenges affecting the educational system in the country have left much to be desired.
According to him, the BESDA programme is designed to result in better life for all children with the aimed of increasing equitable access for out-of-school children, improve literacy and strengthen accountability for results at the basic education level in the focus states.
The minister noted that the programme focuses on 17 states, which include the entire 13 states of the North West and North East geographical zones as well Niger, Oyo, Ebony and Rivers.
“There is nothing to cheer about if a single child is out of school, instead of being in the classroom learning. So it is in this regard that ensuring the out of school children are back to school and learning. Learning is not only a moral and legal obligation, but also a productive investment that will guarantee the future of our children and ensure that their rights are protected as enshrined in the Child’s Right Act of 2003,” Nwajiuba said.