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CHUKWU DAVID reports on the resolution of the Senate to convoke a national summit to address 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, which the lawmakers described as a time bomb
There is no doubt that the ever increasing number of out-of-school children in Nigeria has become a national malaise, which calls for urgent attention and drastic action from all levels of government and other stakeholders in the country for permanent solution.
The situation is so worrisome that analysts have posited that the ugly development is a major causative factor in the escalating insecurity currently bedeviling the nation, across the six geo-political zones.
The Senate, being a major stakeholder in the Nigeria project is not left out in demonstrating concerns about the menace of the large scale out-of-school children roaming the streets of Nigeria and constituting great danger to the entire population.
Accordingly, the apex legislative Assembly, on Wednesday last week, passed a resolution to organise a national summit to address this disturbing problem.
The Senate took the decision after considering a report of its Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary), on the need to tackle the challenges of out of school children in the country.
The report
The report, which took a holistic look at the problems posed by the growing trend of out of school children in Nigeria, was presented for the chamber’s consideration by the chairman of the Committee, Senator Usman Adamu, representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District.
Adamu, however, disclosed that over two million out-of-school children have been enrolled in the last one year through the collective efforts of the agencies of the Ministry of Education, working on out-of-school children education.
In a robust debate by over 20 lawmakers, which lasted over two hours, the out-of-school children menace was identified as a time bomb for the country, demanding solutions that would require concerted efforts of relevant stakeholders, beyond efforts of the Federal Government alone.
Adamu hinted that the report was sequel to a resolution of the Senate on March 20, 2024, which mandated it to probe into the menace, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the increasing rate of out-of-school children, so that the potential dangers the ugly trend posed to the country could be averted.
He pointed out that members of the committee interaction with Minister of Education on July 18, over the issue, and that the interaction was fruitful as well as provided basis for which the report was drafted for Senate’s consideration and adoption.
Adamu lamented that there has not been synergy or a roadmap with the state government on-out-of school children in Nigeria.
He said that the committee made recommendations, among which was that the Federal Government should expand and implement the school feeding programme to attract attendance of children to school and support their health and well-being.
The committee also urged the Senate to call on the Federal Government to design an inclusive national policy on education that will energize the national and sub-national government to take responsibility and ownership and provide improved security and safety of school at their levels.
The committee also urged the Senate to liaise with the various states and local governments to ascertain accurate data on out-of-school children for adequate planning and funding as well as the need for executive to allocate and timely release adequate funds to the Federal Ministry of Education and other relevant government agencies charged with the responsibility of tackling out-of-school children in order to reduce the menace to the barest minimum within the timeline.
Speaking further, Senator Adamu said: “We also enjoin efforts of government at all levels, national and state and local governments, traditional rulers, parents, development partners, civil society organizations, and stakeholders in education, ensuring security in food, education, infrastructure, enhancing teachers’ training, accurate data management, adequate funding, monitoring, and updates. Collaboration with state and local governments is crucial in this regard.”
Contributions by senators
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, announced the decision of the Red Chamber to convoke a national summit after a majority of the senators overwhelmingly supported the proposal through voice vote.
Akpabio, who expressed serious concerns over the situation, said that the summit will involve the presidency, senators, governors, local government chairmen, councillors, traditional rulers and civil society groups.
“This issue of outof-school children is a major cause of insecurity in this country. 20 million children that are out of school is a time bomb for any country or anywhere experiencing banditry,”Akpabio said.
The Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau, while contributing to the debate on the report, said: “I feel compelled to comment on this report because the issue is very important.
It is a serious problem, which if left unattended, is a kind of time bomb, and once it explodes, it will consume us, particularly the Northern part of this country. “The number of children roaming our streets without going to school needs our attention, it is a serious problem.
It is a problem that the solution is beyond the federal government alone or any tier of government. It should have an all-inclusive attention; local, state and federal governments, traditional and religious leaders, and even parents all have a role to play.
“I feel happy that the committee concluded by saying that addressing outof-school children in Nigeria demands concerted efforts across all: National, state, local governments, parents, traditional rulers, development partners and so on. Since the Federal Government can’t do it alone, state governments can’t. So, everybody has to come together; we all must come together.”
Also, making his contribution, the Immediate past President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, urged the Upper Chamber to compel the Ministry of National Planning to come up with reliable data.
He advised the Senate to organise a national educational council meeting to address challenges of the nation’s education system.
Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West), also lamented the ineffectiveness of the government to promote western education, just as Senator Solomon Adeola noted that successive governments had done several programmes to improve the nation’s education system but blamed state governments for not complementing such efforts.
Dickson lamented the ineffectiveness of the government to promote western education, saying: “The crisis facing the education system is at the core of insecurity, at the core of leadership failure, and at the core of a lot of issues affecting the country.
All of us who went to school 20 to 50 years ago, know the kind of education that was available, available for the rich as well as poor.
“We should use this opportunity, in my view, to undertake a comprehensive overview of the crisis facing our educational system, My suggestion is that the Senate president should have a conversation with the President.
He’s already addressing it with the students’ loan, but let us have a summit where the governors who are the heads of sub-region and commissioners will also be there, so that we can formulate a coherent national strategy.”
Adeola Olamilekan (APC, Ogun West) said successive governments have done several programmes to improve the nation’s education system but blamed state governments for not complementing the efforts.
After the debate, the President of the Senate put the suggestion to hold a national summit on the menace of out-ofschool to vote and the majority of the senators supported it.
He then approved it and commended his colleagues for the extensive debate on the national problem. Akpabio expressed the hope that the summit would successfully address the challenges facing the nation’s educational system, especially as it pertains to ensuring that the number of out of school children is drastically reduced.
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