Out-Of-School Children Are Threat To Development – Gov Sani

The Governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, has called on stakeholders to join hands and address the issues of out-of-school children.

Uba Sani said all out-of-school- children, including the disabled, are threats to the inclusive development of society, stressing that no child should be left out.

He stated this on Monday at the Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROOSC) Start-Up Workshop. Sani assured that his administration was out to address the menace in Kaduna State.

“We set out to tackle the key challenges in the educational sector in Kaduna State in six ways: improving access, building and rehabilitating education infrastructure to ensure a conducive learning environment, building capacity of teachers, harnessing the capacity of ICT to improve access, quality and management of education, prioritizing girl – child education, and strengthening security in the state,” he said.

He noted that his administration commenced infrastructural development in the school sector to address the menace of out-of-school children.

“Recognizing the continued demand for quality education, approval has been given for the construction of an additional 50 secondary schools across the state. The procurement process for this ambitious project is currently in its advanced stages.

“Upon completion, these new schools are expected to enrol over 100,000 students, further solidifying Kaduna State’s commitment to providing inclusive and accessible education for all,” he added.

“The administration has also constructed 2,326 new classrooms, renovated 707 classrooms, supplied 30,742 two-seater pupil’s furniture, provided 3,704 Teachers Furniture, and constructed 918 VIP Cubicle Toilets and 51 hand pump boreholes in schools across the state,” he stated.

Governor Sani explained that his administration’s policies in the education sector have started yielding fruit, as shown in the last national examination.

“Kaduna State students’ performance improved significantly in the latest NECO SSCE results, with 67% of students achieving 5 credits and above (including Maths and English), compared to 54% in 2022.

“Our administration is making steady progress in improving access to education, infrastructure and quality of teaching. But the number of children who are out of school remains a major concern to us.

“We are determined to decisively tackle the problem on a larger scale and chart the path to a better future for our poor, vulnerable and underserved children,” he added.

Earlier in his welcome address, the State Coordinator of the Reaching Out of School Children Project (ROOSC), Mr Ezra Angai, said the Project was designed to reduce the number of out-of-school children significantly and build a more equitable education system that leaves no child behind.

Angai noted that the “overarching goal of the project is to return 200,000 out-of-school children back to school, train 8,780 SBMC members, train 4,390 teachers and 112 education officers in data management, build the capacity of 511 officers in planning, budgeting, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) and Reach a total of 1.2 million beneficiaries of Teaching and Learning materials across the state”.