Ms Euphrates Wose, UNICEF Chief of Education Programme in Nigeria, has pledged to support Kano State Government to check the increasing number of out-of-school children in the state.
A statement by UNICEF’s Media and External Relations Officer, Rabiu Musa and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Monday, said that Wose made the promise when she paid a courtesy visit to Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje at the Government House, Kano.
She noted that Kano state has the largest proportion of children that are Out-of-school (OOS) as such the government needed support to address the ugly trend.
The chief of education emphasized the demographic trends of Nigeria and the number of out-of-school children especially in Kano and said
“UNICEF will support the government in advancing the reduction of out-of-school children for the development of the state.”
“One of the strategies of reduction of OOS is by strengthening government systems to deliver quality education with foundational and employability skills for learning,” Wose added.
The UNICEF official commended Gov. Ganduje for providing education to internally displaced children of Borno in addition to the construction of rural roads across the state.
This, she said will make it easy for farmers to transport their agricultural produce thereby stabilizing livelihood of families and creating the means for parents to support their children’s education.
“The creation of the Quaranic and Islamiyah School Management Board that integrates basic literacy and numeracy in this type of education institution is also worthy of commendation, “she said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Head of UNICEF Field Office, Katsina, Mr Paul Mudzongo, thanked the Governor for allocating land for the Kano Field Office which is expected to commence operation in July with between 30 and 40 staff.
He also reaffirmed that UNICEF remained a friend to the government and will support the government’s vision in realizing child rights.
Responding, Ganduje expressed concern over the growing number of out-of-school children and promised to expand the existing infrastructure and teacher recruitment to address the challenges.
He said the government also planned to put a legislation in place that will prevent school aged children from abandoning their classrooms.
“The state government intends to make education free and compulsory form primary to Junior Secondary level,” Ganduje said.
NAN reports that Kano state has over three million out-of-school children, the highest in the country. (NAN)
