The National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE) yesterday disclosed that 700,000 out-of-school children in Nigeria have been identified. This was revealed by Dr. Muhammad Idris, Executive Secretary of NCAOOSCE, at the inaugural Benue Basic Education Summit in Makurdi, which was organized by the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in association with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the NCAOOSCE, and Universal Learning Solutions (ULS).
The brace-up project was started by Benue State Governor Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia as part of attempts to stop the threat, and student marshals were appointed in each local council to keep an eye on and detect out-of-school youngsters in their areas.
Alia declared that access to education is still a fundamental right that no kid should be denied, restating his administration's commitment to providing free and mandatory basic education to all children in the state. Hajiya Aisha Garba, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, also praised Benue for its observable improvements in the field of basic education.
According to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, over 65,000 out-of-school children have returned to the state's schools. Makinde made this statement at the Executive Council Chamber, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, during a courtesy visit to receive the World Bank/Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) group on the BESDA-AF implementation assistance mission.
The governor claimed that the Better Education Service Delivery for Additional Financing (BESDA-AF) intervention program had improved the state's education system. While expressing gratitude to the World Bank and UBEC for their financial and structural support, Makinde pledged that his government will use the resources and work required to obtain the state's allotted monies in the upcoming cycle.
Earlier in his remarks, Mayowa Aleshin, the UBEC team lead and National Programme Coordinator, stated that the team would assess the BESDA-AF project's implementation, examine the difficulties, and offer additional suggestions.
He was grateful for the state government's tremendous assistance in carrying out the intervention program. Additionally, Makinde's efforts to restructure the education sector and give access to high-quality education at all levels were praised by Shinsaku Nomura, the World Bank team lead.