The National Commission for Almajiri and Out of School Children Education is to mop up 10 thousand out of school children in the FCT by September this year.
Dr Muhammad Idris, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, announced this while inaugurating Out of School Children Marshals in Abuja.
According to him, the initiative, starting on Monday July 22, in Abuja as a “testing project”, will later expand nationwide.
During the test-run, the Marshals will search the FCT to find and register out-of-school kids before school resumes in September.
Dr Idris stressed the need for collaboration with local leaders who, as he put it, have a “better understanding” of their communities.
“We will engage Chiefs, Emirs, and District heads who know their people well. The Marshals will speak to parents about the advantages of sending their kids to school.”
Dr Idris also encouraged the Marshals to approach their task with “humility and commitment”.
Professor Rukayat Tukur, the Head of the Marshals and Director of Grand Mobilisation, promised a thorough “carrying out” of the mission.
At least 31 Marshals assigned to the six area councils of the FCT were inaugurated for the exercise.
Although primary education is officially free and compulsory, UNICEF has reported that about 10.5 million of the country’s children, aged 5-14 years, are not in school.
According to UNICEF, Only 61% of children between six and 11 years regularly attend primary school, and only 35.6% of children aged 36-59 months receive early childhood education.
To address the problem, the Federal government, in January 2024, launched the National Campaign on Out-Of-School Children and Distribution of School Materials to children in Ilorin.
Writing by Patience Olumati; Editing by Oluwaseyi Ajibade, Julian Osamoto and Tony Okerafor
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