The Kebbi State Universal Basic Education Board SUBEB, has commended the Open Schooling Programme (OSP) introduced by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), to address the problem of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary of the Board, Hajiya Nana Alkali, gave the commendation on Thursday in Kaduna, on the sidelines of a two-day meeting with stakeholders on the implementation of the programme. The initiative would not only mop up out-of-school children roaming the streets, but also extend access to non-literate Nigerians.
According to her, the state government is doing its best to ensure that all school-going-age children are in school and acquiring sound education.
The secretary, however, said the challenges facing the education sector in the state was overwhelming.
She said that the support from the Federal Government and its agencies, development partners and other relevant stakeholders would go a long way in ensuring proactive response to the problems.
“There is significant progress in school enrolment, following the implementation of the school feeding and other incentives, to motivate parents to send their children to school.
“The state government is providing free uniforms, books, school bags and other incentives to the pupils, and motivating teachers to make learning interesting, to ensure retention of pupils.
“So far, out of the 814,945 out-of-school children in the state, 49,000 Almajiris, 8,670 nomadic children and 23,000 girl-child have been enrolled into formal education, and more are being enrolled.
“This was achieved through various advocacy of the state government, implementation of the world Bank-Supported Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA), and other support from development partners and stakeholders.”
Alkali noted that the state government had also set up Local Government Committees on Education, made up of seasoned educationists and other critical stakeholders, to sustain the progress being recorded in basic education.
Similarly, Prof. Abba Haladu, Executive Secretary, National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-formal Education, said the initiative was crucial in addressing the challenge of out-of-school in the country.
Haladu described the initiative as “a great opportunity” for non-literate Nigerians, to acquire basic education at their doorstep and at their convenience.
The professor noted that the OSP would significantly reduce the challenge of huge out-of-school children and non-literate Nigerians, with no access to formal education.
He urged all Nigerians to support the success of the initiative, designed to increase educational opportunities in a flexible manner, that would meet the interest of all. UBEC had introduced the open schooling programme, to specifically mop up out-of-school children in the country, through a non-conventional and flexible education strategy.
The programme would be implemented in six pilot states – Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Adamawa and Niger.
