TUNDE BOLAJI – MINNA
Niger State government has expressed concern over increased number of out-of-school children in the state.
The State Commissioner for Education, Hajiya Hannatu Salihu, raised the alarm during the presentation of identified out-of-school children for the state’s 2022 back-to-school campaign in Minna.
She therefore said that urgent steps must be taken, before it wreck more havoc, not only in communities where they live, but the state at large.
Salihu said implementation of activities of Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which supports back-to-school campaign in its second phase, is making huge impact in reducing the number of out-of-school children, especially in rural communities in Lapai and Kontagora councils.
Salihu urged journalists to support government to find ways of sustaining the intervention and scale up campaign in the remaining 23 councils.
She pointed out that sustained media campaign and sensitisations would help in bringing back out-of-school children to continue from where they stopped.
The commissioner thanked Governor Abubakar Bello for his efforts at providing leadership and commitment to reform the sector to better achieve human capital development.
About 400 children from Lapai and Kontagora councils, aged between five and 10 years were returned to school.
Salihu lauded GPE, UNICEF and donor partners for their technical and financial support towards improvement of the state’s education sector.
