Jumoke Olasunkanmi
The House of Representatives has said it plans to send 14 million out-of-school children back to the classroom through a four-year intervention tagged ‘Nigeria Mass Reduction of Out-of-School Children and Youth Project’, (NiMPROP).
According to the Chairman of the House Committee on Alternative Education, Hon. Almustapha Ibrahim Aliyu, the initiative aims to significantly decrease the number of out-of-school children through non-formal accelerated education programmes and alternative schooling initiatives.
He added that the House will work with relevant government agencies such as the National Commission on Almajiri and out-of-school Children, the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education and the National Commission for Nomadic Education to address poverty and value gaps by focusing on public education.
He stated: “In partnership with relevant government agencies, the intervention aims at improving access to education for all Nigerian children in line with the aspirations of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs-4) on qualitative and inclusive education for all.”
Aliyu further revealed that the initiative will ultimately lift 16.5 million Nigerians out of poverty, saying that by addressing poverty at its roots, a significant number of out-of-school children will have the opportunity to rejoin the educational system.
“As the House prepares to reconvene from its annual recess, the necessary mechanisms are being put in place for the realisation of this far-reaching intervention.
“Crucially, this initiative seeks to make substantial reductions in poverty across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, acknowledging the varying degrees of poverty in each region.
“Therefore, the intervention targets the reduction of poverty as 4 million people in the Northeast; 3.4 million people in the North West; 2.5 million in the North Central; 3 million in the South East; 2.1 million in the south-south, and 1.6 million in the South West,” the Lawmaker added.
