CSOs Urge Bauchi Govt to Increase Enrollment for Out-of-School Children

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working In Bauchi state on Tuesday  called on the state government to improve its enrollment drive to curb issues around out-of-school pupils in the state.

The team lead  of the CSOs, Mr. Suleiman Ahmed, stated this during an Advocacy to the Bauchi State Ministry of Education in Bauchi.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that Gov. Bala Mohammmed in 2020 expressed concern that the state had the highest number of out-of-school children of 1.4 million in the country.

This was as the Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board (BASUBEB), said it had enrolled 154,000 out-of-school children into basic and post basic schools in the past one year.

Ahmed expressed concern about the fate of children’s education, security of schools, and nutrition.

He attributed  the rise in the number of out-of-school children to the influx of children into the state.

He said that  school enrollment was a collective responsibility for all, hence the need to strengthen partnerships among stakeholders.

Ahmed urged all tiers of government to increase education funding, create targeted interventions and support the marginalized groups of children.

“The state government should emphasize the need for adequate distribution of teachers, infrastructure and learning materials.

“Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities  should be frequently inspected and with adequate supervision,” he stressed.

The team leader noted that  distribution of school materials would  support enrollment, retention and transition of children.

He, however, explained that the team of CSOs in the state received a grant under the state accountability, transparency and effectiveness (state2state) scheme with funding from (USAID) to promote and strengthen good governance in the state.

In his remark, the permanent Secretary, Mr. Sule Madara, said  the present administration  had outlined policies and programmes to enhance quality education in the state.

He added that  over time, school enrollment had  improved  but much more still needed to be done. Madara urged  the team  to contribute with programmes that could transform the education system and development of the state.