Inaugurating the 18-member Presidential Steering Committee on Alternate School Programme, ASP, co-chaired by the Ministers of Humanitarian Affairs and Education, the president said it was unacceptable to see children abandoning formal school to engage in menial jobs and child labour in the markets, streets and workshops.

President Buhari said the National Plan to be deployed by the federal government, through the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry, would ensure a holistic and comprehensive inclusiveness of appropriate basic education for vulnerable children.

‘‘To commence this special education initiative, emphasis should be given to first provide a limited scope of subjects in Mathematics, English language, Basic Science and Social studies. Gradually, the initiative will be scaled up to ensure the acquisition of relevant technical skills in the process that can enable the beneficiaries to participate in gainful economic activities,’’ he said.

President Buhari noted that in view of ‘‘some United Nations agencies that report a disturbing level of out of school children estimated at 13 million,’’ the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry had identified the critical need to further address literacy inclusiveness, especially among these vulnerable children.

‘‘While we continue to sustain our efforts on providing formal and conventional education through the activities of the Universal Basic Education Commission under the Federal Ministry of Education, it is still a common sight to notice children abandoning formal school to become apprentices in shops, workshops and markets, whilst many others choose to loiter at markets, become cart pushers and hawkers.

‘‘These are not acceptable,’’ he said.

The president also used the occasion to reiterate the commitment of the Federal Government to deal with key challenges of absolute poverty and propel Nigeria and Nigerians to a better way of life and development.

Reviewing the administration’s programmes on poverty eradication, President Buhari expressed delight that many countries were already admiring and imitating Nigeria’s social investment programmes as an effective strategy in the fight against poverty.

‘‘In our first term, many programmes and projects based on firm policies were commenced with the fight against poverty being the main goal.

‘‘The National Social Investment Program, NSIP, that includes the conditional cash transfer, N-Power, National Home-Grown School feeding Programme and The Government Enterprise and Empowerment programmes are today gaining admiration and imitation by many countries as an effective strategy.

‘‘Based on the need to sustain these efforts, we have launched the policy of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2030 at the beginning of our second term in 2019 to further consolidate the gains of the NSIPs through effective coordination and institutionalisation.

‘‘This led to the creation of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development with the mandate to ensure full coordination of all poverty eradication efforts of Government for enhanced impact,’’ he said.

Other members of the Presidential Steering Committee on ASP are Chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum, Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Minister of State, Education, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Sustainable Development Goals, Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, Director General, National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, and the  National President, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON.

Others are Representative, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO;  Representative, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF; Representative, Global Partnership for Education; Chair, Private Sector Advisory Group – SDGs; Chair, Civil Society Coalition on Sustainable Development; Chair, Senate Committee on Basic Education; Chair, House Committee on Basic Education, Hon. Dr. Shehu Balarabe Kakale, while the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development will serve as Secretary.

President Buhari listed the four Terms of Reference of the Committee as follows:

*Refine and focus the vision of the initiative

*Ensure engagement and effective uptake of the ASP initiative across the country

*Review and approve all work, implementation plan, expected deliverables, feedbacks and reports as proposed

*Undertake any other task that can enhance the effective delivery of the initiative by the Ministry.

The president implored all members of the committee to take the assignment with the utmost seriousness, saying ‘‘the future of our young people is at stake.’’

In her remarks, Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, said the success of the programme “will be a turning point in our nation’s development history as it will accelerate our drive towards sustainable development.”

She added: ‘‘It is important to note that this success extends far beyond attaining Quality Education, Goal 4 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. It also directly impacts SDG 1, No Poverty, as it will provide better future outcomes for our children.”

The minister also said the success would impact SDG Goals 2, 5, 8, 10, and 17.

The post Buhari inaugurates committee to tackle problem of out-of-school children appeared first on Frontpageng.

It is also working towards mopping the rest of the population outside classroom back before the end of the year.

The disclosure was made at the weekend by the state’s Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Kehinde Sangodoyin, at the launching and dedication of projects embarked upon by Old Students of Ibadan City Academy, Ibadan.

Sangodoyin hinted that the state would leave no stone unturned in its move to provide qualitative education without financial burden on parents and guardians and has perfected all preparations towards reintroducing boarding system to public schools while 64,000 units of furniture would soon be distributed to all public schools in the state.

He added that teachers on level sixteen to seventeen would assume the title of ‘tutor generals’ while government would start paying running cost for the upkeep of public schools from Monday September 30th 2019.

“Parts of the State education policy is to improve access and participation of our students in academic activities at all levels, be it primary or secondary and since the governor has removed levies hitherto paid by our students and has just approved the payment of running cost to our primary and secondary schools. Also we are equally working on providing furniture to schools. 64,000 units will soon be distributed to all schools across the state.

“On the out-of-school children, I can assure you that we have 43% of the students back in the classrooms now and we are working to get them all back. We have a plan towards sensitising the parents and facilitate procedures of mopping the rest of the number back to school from the street and to achieve this, we are going to work with SUBEB and UBEC to actualise this goal.

“We are engaging all stakeholders, volunteers, traditional council, leaders of thought and the media to counsel the children wherever they may be found so that they will see the beauty of being back to school for the good of their own future.

“Plans are underway to provide them with uniform, we have free textbooks and notebooks and we are supplying them with feeding to retain their interest after getting them back totally. We all know that poverty contributed to the cause of their being outside the school and these items are the major needs that will make them come to school and stay.

“Engr. Seyi Makinde has proved himself and his administration that he does not bluff. He talks and backs his talk with actions and this has been exhibited in his stride in education, security, health and workers welfare among other things.”

The commissioner enjoined school administrators to cooperate with government in the area of policy actualisation, warning them not to collect money from students for the free textbooks and notebooks provided by government.

The President-General of Ibadan City Academy Old Students’ Association (ICAOSA), Chief Richard Titiloye, commended the state government for the attention given to quality education, adding that corporate bodies and school alumni should do more to support government.

Titiloye listed the achievements of the school alumni to include renovation of Physics, Chemistry, Biology laboratories, the school library and staff rooms.

He said the body earlier renovated fifteen classrooms in the school, dug a borehole, employed six teachers, five security staffers and organised training for teachers in the school and gave scholarship to brilliant but indigent students.

“Today we are marching on with our vision to bring back the lost glory of Ibadan City Academy. I know it is not an easy task, inevitably, we will require the full cooperation of the state government to achieve our goals. Our efforts so far as Old Students are visible and quantifiable. Despite the challenging economic times, we believe our continued investment in the development of students and teachers of the school will move our school to greater academic height in no distant future,” he opined.

Ibadan City Academy was established by a late Ibadan philantropist, Chief Timothy Lajide Oyesina, on the 6th February 1946 and named Ibadan Commercial Academy and was renamed Ibadan City Academy in 1960.

The post Out-of-school children: Oyo returns 43% to class appeared first on Frontpageng.

Lawan made assertion after the Legislative Agenda for the ninth Senate was adopted.

“Today, the education sector suffers a lot. The 11 million or 12 million children out of school, we owe them that responsibility to do something about them. And that is taking us back to the implementation of the basic education Act.

“How do we ensure that we reduce and eliminate the number of out-of-school children on our street? Whatever name we have to give that programme, we have to do something, and government has to take responsibility,” Lawan said.

The Senate President said the government, both at the federal and state levels, will have to create some funds to employ and train more teachers.

Lawan said the upper chamber will work assiduously to implement its legislative agenda.

“This legislative agenda is particularly ours. We represent the people, we know their feelings, and we imagine that the legislative perspectives we have here maybe slightly different from the executive perspective.

“But at the same time, we are going to serve the same people, and that is where the need for us to come together and to reconcile our thinking on taking Nigeria to the next level will be,” Lawan said.

The Senate resolved that it will tackle youth unemployment, poverty and reform of the educational sector, among other challenges facing the country.

The red chamber said it would channel its energy towards strengthening Basic and Technical Education by enhancing oversight on the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), to ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Act.

The post Our plan for out-of-school children –Senate President appeared first on Frontpageng.