From Femi Mustapha, in Kaduna
The Emir of Zazzau, Mallam Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, has said getting out-of-school children back to school in Kaduna State will help in addressing the current security and other challenges bedeviling the state, saying himself and the People of Zazzau Emirate are in support of the Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROSC)
He asserted this when he received the Kaduna State Project Coordinator of Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROSC) Ezra Angai, who led other stakeholders on advocacy to his palace in Zaria today.
The Emir said it is worrisome that schools today are experiencing a low number of children because of many factors, adding that the children who are supposed to be in school are today out of school and becoming a threat to society.
The Royal father, who expressed dismay over the large number of children that are out of school in Kaduna state, said it is time the government and other stakeholders come together to ensure that the children return to school for their futures to be secure.
The Emir blames the current hardships in the country for the number of out-of-school children, saying that teachers cannot even afford transportation to school, not to talk of students.
The royal father said if not checked, the number of out-of-school children can become a security challenge to the state and the nation at large.
He however urged the project Coordinator and his team to ensure that stakeholders from the Emirate are carried along for the maximum success of the project
“I am very happy to have you in my palace today, what you are doing is good for us because it concerns us and our children’s future. But you have to partner with our stakeholders to know why some of these children are out of school.
“The Zazzau Emirate covers eleven local governments out of the twenty-three local in Kaduna State with over thirty districts, so it is good that you are here today to brief us about this project, and I am delighted to let you know that we will join you to ensure that your aims are achieved,” he said
In his remarks the Project Coordinator, Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROSC), Ezra Angai said the initiated by Governor Senator Uba Sani’s administration with support from key partners like Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Education Above All (EAA), Save the Children International (SCI), and UNICEF is has a mission to build 102 new schools, renovate 170 others and return 200,000 out-of-school children to school.
Explaining that the project is an initiative of the Kaduna State Government to reduce the number of out-of-school children in the state, Angai said, the administration of Senator Uba Sani has been particular about education and the need to reduce the number of out-of-school children.
The Project Coordinator, while noting that the initiative would be implemented over four years across the 23 local government areas of the State, said the specific objectives of the project include improving access to quality education through the construction of 102 schools and the renovation of 170 schools.
According to him, “the project will further seek to enhance the quality of education through teacher training and capacity building of teachers, as well as the provision of teaching and learning materials to ensure that the children who are returned to school receive quality education. The third objective of the project will be to strengthen the education system itself.”
The coordinator noted, “that the Kaduna State Government has already played a pivotal role in this direction by ensuring that it is probably the first state in the country to allocate 25 percent of its yearly budget to the education sector.
This allocation indicates the seriousness that Kaduna State places on education and impacts directly on the third objective of the project, which is to strengthen the education system to ensure that the budget allocated is properly administered.
“The aim is to ensure that staff in the education sector receive quality training and capacity building to effectively manage the sector and sustain the gains of the project. Overall, the project seeks to return 200,000 out-of-school children to school.” He concluded
