Skip to main content

FG, UNICEF partner to reduce number of out-of-school children

Image result for UNICEF
The Federal Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund ( UNICEF ) have called for collaboration to reduce the number of out-of-school children.
Nigeria currently has the highest number of out-of-school children with 10.5 million.
UNICEF’s Education Specialist, Swadchet Sankey, at a media dialogue in Kano, on early childhood development (ECD) said the figure was alarming.
The dialogue was organized by UNICEF in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Information
She said Nigeria needs to get its early preprimary education right in other to begin to reduce the huge figures.
According to her, building Amajiri schools would not reduce the figure, adding that the federal government  must get its early learning and preprimary education right.
Sankey, who commended the rate of enrollment in schools, called for more efforts to keep children in school.
She said: “We are contributing to the number of out-of-school children.
“One of the strategies of reducing out of school children is not just building amajiri schools, it is not just doing school feeding programmes but we need to get our early learning approach and preprimary education right and ensure that children are enrolled in school.
“We need to be able to create opportunities that allows everybody to have access to quality learning
“We need a national parenting education program. We need parents to understand what ECC means. We need government to understand what ECC is.
“Preprimary education is very important. We need to create an opportunity that gives room for early child learning. Early learning matters because it helps the children to lay the foundation for school.
“Development cannot occur without adequate attention to early childcare. Parents no longer have time to engage with their children. We need to create an enabling environment for parents to support their children.
“Right now in Nigeria our enrollment shows 20 per cent even though the survey is a little bit higher.”
Also, Assistant Director, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Mayowa Aleshi, said the federal government has allocated funds to early childhood development program.
He called for adequate planning and utilization of  resources to expand ECD in the country.
He disclosed that there are about 62,406 primary schools as at 2014, adding that only 28,026 of them had Early Childhood Care and Development Education centres.
According to him, the centres have 56,588 teachers and caregivers with 74% of these population qualified.
He also disclosed that the federal government has set aside “2% of consolidated revenue fund for implementation of UBEC Programme Funding; segregated to a matching grant of 50%,  instructional materials at 15%, teachers’ development at 10% and 5% each of the three components on pre-primary schools.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My quest for change made me team up with Buhari — Amaechi

The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, says that his pursuit for change made him to leave his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to join the All Progressives Congress (APC). Amaechi made the disclosure at the Future Awards Africa held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos last Saturday. He said that he would have done otherwise by staying in PDP and fight for the change, instead, there was a need to cross over to APC because of his belief in President Muhammadu Buhari. “I moved from PDP to APC because I am tired of what is happening in the party, I have the option to stay because of my position as the Chairman of the Governors then. “I can use my position to fight them (PDP) and get what I want because I believe Nigeria was not going in the right direction by then. “My attention and belief shifted to Buhari which was the viable alternative, I believe in the change mantra because it is the only way to improve on what is on ground. “He has not...

My people are being killed on daily basis – Emir of Birnin-Gwari q

The Emir of Birnin-Gwari in Kaduna State, Malam Jibril Zubairu Mai-Gwari II has cried out that people are being killed in his Emirate on daily basis. He therefore asked the Federal Government to intensify efforts at getting rid of the bandits terrorizing the area. The Emir made the call at his palace on Tuesday evening while receiving the Minister of Interior, Lt. General AbdulRahman Danbazzau (rtd) and Deputy Inspector General of Police Operations, Habila Joshak who both visited Birnin Gwari. The Minister and DIG were is Birnin Gwari on assessment of the security situation of the area, where killings and kidnap of innocent citizens have become the order of the day. It would be recalled that, 11 soldiers on Operation ‘Ayem Akpatuma’ were killed in the area two weeks ago, while nine persons, including a bride were kidnapped last Sunday after killing of two persons. Speaking on the situation, the Emir said, armed bandits terrorizing his domain hibernate in Zamfara and come t...

Man bags 14 years imprisonment for raping 13-year-old IDP

A middle aged man, Yahaya Umar was yesterday sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by a Borno State High Court for raping a 13-year-old Hajja Ibrahim, an Internally Displaced Person (IDP). According to the charge read by the clerk of the court, the convict, Yahaya Umar lured the victim from Abaganaram IDPs camp in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to one Rainbow Hotel in same Maiduguri city and had forceful sexual intercourse with her. The charge reads, “That you Yahaya Umar (male), on or about 21st September 2016 at about 1900 hours at railway quarters Maiduguri , within the jurisdiction of this honourable court committed rape on one Hajja Ibrahim of IDPs camp Abaganaram primary school , in that you forcefully had sexual intercourse with her and you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 283 of the penal code laws of Borno State.” In order to prove its case, the prosecution brought five witnesses to testify and some exhibits were tendered in evidence. Coun...