Education stakeholders from Adamawa, Bauchi, and Gombe states have gathered in Gombe to collectively address the challenge of out-of-school children in the North East region. Supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the two-day conference aimed to devise effective strategies to reduce the number of out-of-school children and improve retention, progression, and completion rates in secondary education,Daily Trust reports.
Dr. Tushar Rene, UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Officer, highlighted that Nigeria currently has 10.2 million primary school-age children and 8.1 million junior secondary school-age children out of school, emphasizing the critical need for collaborative action, particularly in the northern region. He identified insufficient policy planning, inadequate budget allocation, teacher shortages, poor infrastructure, and cultural norms as significant barriers to education in the country.
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Dr. Aishatu Umar Maigari, Gombe State Commissioner for Education, underscored the pressing issue of out-of-school children in the state, noting approximately 50,000 children are affected. She expressed concern over the high rates of non-completion of primary, junior, and senior secondary education, with approximately 50% of children not completing primary education, 52% not completing junior secondary school, and 51% not completing senior secondary school.
