Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has reiterated his administration’s commitment to drastically reducing the number of out-of-school children in the state.
The governor made the assurance during the launch of the Federal Ministry of Education’s (FMoE) “National Identification and Enrolment Drive and Campaign on Out-of-School Children” in Lokoja.
The governor, who was represented by the state’s Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Hon. Wemi Jones, emphasized that education was his top priority in the thematic areas of focus under his New Direction Administration.
According to him, the government believes that education is the only way to emancipate our people on a long-term basis.
He assured them that he would not spare a kobo to ensure that education in Kogi was completely revamped.
“This is why the Federal Ministry of Education’s national identification and enrollment drive and campaign on out-of-school children is so important to us in the state.”
“We anticipated this ahead of time, and we have taken steps to ensure that we do not become entangled in the web,” he said.
According to available statistics, Kogi has the fewest out-of-school children among Nigeria’s 19 Northern States, owing to the special attention his government has paid to the issue of education in Kogi.
He stated that he had signed the Kogi State Education Law 2020, which made it a crime in Kogi for any child of school age to be found outside the school during official school hours.
“When such a child is spotted, he or she will be arrested until the child’s parents appear in court to explain why the child is not in school.”
“Right now, Kogi has a 20% budgetary allocation to education, and by 2022, we will have a 30% allocation to education, which is higher than the UNESCO recommendation of 26%,” he said.
As a result, he reiterated the State Government’s commitment to reducing the number of out-of-school children in the state to a bare minimum.
He thanked the FMoE for the commendable initiative and assured them that the state would continue to collaborate with them by providing the necessary support to ensure that education in the state is completely transformed.
The Permanent Secretary, FMoE, Arc. Sonny Echono, stated in his remarks that the Minister of Education, the idea of enrolling all school-age children appears to be an uphill task, but assures that with joint efforts, the challenge is surmountable.
Echono, represented by Mr Mohammed Sidi-Ali, Deputy Director, FMoE Headquarters, Abuja, reaffirmed the federal ministry’s determination to ensure that out-of-school children were returned to school, thereby reducing the number to a bare minimum.
“The ministry plans to identify school-age children who are not enrolled and enroll them in schools near their homes, as well as provide them with some basic school materials.”
“The ministry believes that when an enabling environment for learning is created, such children who enroll in school will remain, complete, and progress to higher levels,” Echono said.
He urged stakeholders to ensure that children, particularly impoverished children, were supported and sponsored in their various vocations in order to achieve a better and safer community for all.
According to NAN, school bags, socks, sandals, uniforms, and other stationery were distributed to the children.