By Paul Ukpa
The National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE) has identified 700,000 out-of-school children across Nigeria, highlighting the scale of the nation’s education challenge.
Dr. Muhammad Idris, Executive Secretary of NCAOOSCE, made this known during the maiden Benue Basic Education Summit in Makurdi, organised by the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in partnership with UBEC and Universal Learning Solutions (ULS).
The Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia launched the Brace Up Project, aimed at reintegrating out-of-school children, and inaugurated student marshals in all local government areas to identify and monitor children out of school.
The governor also donated a bus and a Hilux van to support the initiative.
Benue has made notable strides in basic education under Alia, including the employment of over 9,000 teachers, expansion of early childhood programs, free nursery schools, improved school infrastructure, and provision of learning materials.
Collaborative efforts with UBEC, UNICEF, and ULS have enabled access to over N100 billion in counterpart funding.
Speakers at the summit, including former Governor Gabriel Suswam, the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse, and UBEC Executive Secretary Hajiya Aisha Garba, stressed the importance of community, religious, and traditional leadership in combating out-of-school trends.
The summit also highlighted partnerships with ULS to provide evidence-based literacy programs such as Jolly Phonics, reinforcing Benue’s commitment to ensuring every child attends school.
Governor Alia was awarded a gold medal by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in recognition of his education-friendly policies.
