Francis Sardauna in Katsina
The federal government last Monday announced that Katsina State is the second highest in the ranking of out-of-school children in Nigeria, describing the situation as a worrisome development that needs an urgent intervention.
The Minister of State for Education, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, stated this in his address delivered at the formal launching of Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) programme in Katsina, the state capital.
According to the minister, the Nigerian educational system is characterised by high level of illiteracy, infrastructural decay, inadequate number of unqualified teachers and inadequate instructional facilities hence the launching of BESDA programme.
He said for the challenges to be tackled, the country must strengthen the quality of education by confronting head-on all the factors that denied “our children access to education, the quality of education we delivered and the outcomes of that education.
“It is in the light of this that we launched BESDA in Katsina. It is a programme that would result in better life for all of our children. Its cardinal objectives are to increase the equitable access, improve literacy and strengthen accountability for results at the basic education level.
“The 17 states that are the focus of this programme are drawn from seven in the Northwest, six in the Northeast and one from each of the other zones. Katsina State is the second highest in the ranking of out-of-school children in Nigeria, and this worries us, but we have heard that a lot of efforts have already gone into this, and there is massive improvement in the last six years.”
The minister, however, added that the BESDA programme has enrolled about one million children “therefore, we can authoritatively state that the number of out-of-school has reduced.”
In his remarks, the state Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, said a total of 361,525 out-of-school children representing 36 per cent of the set target has so far enrolled in schools across the state under the BESDA programme.
“The programme started in the state in September 2019 following the receipt of $3 million as advance funds with additional $3 million as prior result funds in August 2020,” Masari added.
