FG aims to enroll 15m out-of-school children in 4 years – Education minister

By Maryam Abeeb

The Ministry of Education is actively working towards reintegrating Nigeria’s 15 million out-of-school children into the educational system within the next four years.
Prof. Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education, shared this commitment during a one-day retreat focused on quick wins in Ministerial deliverables (2023-2027) held in Abuja yesterday.
Addressing the concerning prevalence of out-of-school children in the country, Mamman emphasized the embarrassment of Nigeria consistently having the highest number of out-of-school children globally.
“We will pay particular attention to this unacceptable phenomenon, aligning with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment. Our goal is to bring back 15 million out-of-school children into classrooms by the year 2027.
“We stand firm in our belief that correcting the educational landscape will set the foundation for overall development, putting our country on the right path. A populace equipped with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitude will foster a society with the right economic model to serve its people.
Addressing the issue of school safety, Mamman highlighted Tinubu’s deep concern about insecurity affecting youth and students.
“We acknowledge a significant decrease in these incidents and are reinforcing collaborative efforts with communities and security agencies to eradicate them from schools at all levels.
“We are also tackling social vices in tertiary institutions and, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice, have developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for addressing School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV), providing essential guidelines for handling SRGBV cases.”
Saadhna Panday-Soobrayan, UNICEF Education Manager, emphasized the importance of effective teaching and learning in schools. She stressed that school principals should serve as instructional leaders to support teachers in foundational literacy and early childhood education.
“The teacher must be skilled in delivering foundational literacy through structured pedagogy. Local Government Area (LGA) officials should provide support through coaching and mentoring to ensure the delivery of high-quality foundational literacy.”