Two million out-of-school almajiri children enrolled: FG

The federal government has enrolled two million out-of-school almajiri children in basic and Arabic literacy programmes.

Minister of education Tahir Mamman said this at the Citizens and Stakeholders Engagement on Nigerian Education Sector Ministerial Deliverables in Abuja on Tuesday.

Upon assumption of office, President Bola Tinubu organised a cabinet retreat for the ministers, permanent secretaries, and top government officials to prepare them and sensitise them to the workings and processes of his administration.

Regretting the recent kidnap of some students of the University of Calabar, he said the ministry is working with security agencies to bring back the students as well as getting TETFund to help fence the university.

Speaking further, the minister said that in months, the ministry had been able to develop guidelines and training manuals for implementing inclusive basic education.

He says these have helped increase access, enrolment, and retention completion at both basic, secondary, and tertiary school levels.

Corroborating this, the minister of state for education, Yusuf Sununu, said the ministry deployed technology in education to promote learning and skills development and acquisition at all levels.

Mr Sununu said this would address teachers and the learning crisis at the basic education level.

The Lagos commissioner for education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, expressed worry over an increment in WAEC fees to N27,000, noting that most parents could not afford to pay such.

He appealed to the federal government to devise a policy for subsidising the fees to give Nigerian children quality and affordable education.

Regarding the out-of-school challenges, he said the recent inflow of children from other parts of the country to Lagos state was a problem, saying if it was not handled, it could spur more social vices.

Also, the National Safe School Response Coordination Centre commander, Hammed Abodunrin, said it was time the country took the security of its citizens seriously.

Mr Abodunrin said there was a need to provide security education to the citizenry, noting that the centre, in collaboration with the education ministry, was ready to launch security education in schools.

On his part, Mikayla Ibrahim, Education Adviser of the British High Commission, said the UK government supported Nigeria’s basic education by implementing the GEP III project.

He said the GEP project has given about 1.5 million girls access to learning.

He said the GEP project has also worked well in the Reading and Numeracy and Cash Transfer Programmes.