4m Out-of-school Children Returned To Classrooms – FG

Four million of the 20 million out-of-school children have been returned to the classrooms, the Federal Government has said.

The government said of these figures released by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), 3,483,721 students have benefited from direct interventions to enhance learning.

It credited the feat to the collaborative efforts of five agencies within the Federal Ministry of Education, stressing that it has set an ambitious target to enroll three to four million out-of-school children into classrooms annually over the next three years, effectively transitioning them from the streets to schools.

Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman said this in Abuja while giving his ministerial scorecard for the last year.

Data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) revealed that Nigeria has over 20 million out- of-school children, the highest in Africa and third globally.

Mamman said more than 53 million learners are currently benefiting from its free and compulsory basic education programmes.

According to the Minister, the number increased from 30,324,372 to 53,324,372, representing an increase of 75.9 per cent.

The Minister said: “Over four million young children have been brought to basic school and Arabic literacy programmes, including 200,500 learners with disabilities, through five agencies of the Federal Ministry of Education.

“In the last two weeks, over 20,000 out-of- school children have been registered in Abuja, and a similar exercise is ongoing across the country. Those who are above school age will be taught skills so that they can continue with their lives.

“We are targeting three to four million out-of- school children to be brought back to class every year for the next three years.”

The minister said over 85,662 teaching and non-teaching staff at all levels in various academic and non-academic institutions have been trained in the last year.

He added that more than 759,000 scholarships have been awarded to students within the same period.

The minister stated: “The ministry is working on the implementation of the approved welfare scheme for teachers, such as the Special Salary Scale for Teachers in Basic and Secondary Schools, Rural Posting Allowance, Science Teachers’ Allowance, and Special Teachers Pension Scheme.”

He also said over 40,000 facilities have been provided by the UBEC for basic and senior secondary education.

In the tertiary education sector, the minister said over 6,500 facilities have been provided, including laboratories, faculty buildings, and auditoriums, among others.