As the world marks International Day of Education, stakeholders in the sector have decried the high rate of out-of-school children in the northern states and called for concerted efforts to checkmate the trend.
In a virtual webinar themed ‘Learning for Lasting Peace’ organized by the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), the stakeholders bemoaned over how the government and other stakeholders handled the situation which is taking the region backwards both economically and socially.
Ambassador Umar Muhammed Galadima, the Founder UGED Foundation, said the past successive governments have turned deaf ears on the issue of out-of-school children which has escalated to a high level and now the whole region is paying the price.
Discussing the topic ‘Challenges of Out-of-school children in the North, How do we Change the Narratives’, Galadima said failures of the authorities concerned to checkmate the menace is what led to the influx of armed groups into the region which led to the loss of lives and properties worth billions of naira in the region.
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According to him, the North East whose majority of its population are farmers and salary dependents, the region is worst hit by the activities of out-of-school children syndrome, noting that lack of seriousness on the part of all accounts for the increasing number.
“In the past, it has been neglected and now we’re paying the price. There is a need to change the narrative. Why do we have different out-of-school children here? Go to all parts of the country they have this but ours is different. In some regions school dropouts joined armed groups who are looking for ways of survival while ours are not”, he said.
He added that everyone has to be blamed for the rising number of out-of-school children in the region, saying that even the designed curriculum has failed to cater for the needs of in-school-children talkless of the out-of-school who normally attend informal schools.
“We have ourselves to blame, the curriculum itself is half-baked and is designed to attend to issues of all children in Nigeria. How do you expect it to accommodate out-of-school children”?
“Did we ever sit down to discuss the Almajiri system? The government has set up boards, but are they applying the same curriculum to in-school-children?” He asked.
Galadima said to checkmate the trend, there is a need for all to sit down and discuss the issue of the Almajiri system which accounts for the high number of out-of-school children and also to identify the role of gatekeepers in the system.
He blamed policymakers for not identifying the problems with the Almajiri gatekeepers who still believed that their system is not out of school and also a means of livelihood.
“The same Mallams will tell us who told you that those who learn Arabic can not be self-reliant and have skills to deliver? So the failure of government to solve its own educational problems and still want to send the Almajiris to the problems in the formal schools”, he added.
Highlighting ways to reduce the high number of out-of-school children in the north despite the conflicting figures, Galadima said there is a need to redefine the government’s approach to issues of the Almajiri system and stop stigmatizing the system which has been neglected for so long and give them voices.
“We need to go deep down to find out what causes this problem. Why is the system going abusive these days? Why do the children have to beg, and laboured to survive? Why will parents transfer their responsibilities to an irresponsible person? People don’t have clear justification on why they are sending their children to such schools” he concluded.
Earlier in his presentation, Elder Musa Abel, the Director of Education, at Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Bauchi State Chapter, said today’s educational curriculum has failed to meet global standards thus accounting for the high number of unemployed graduates in the country.
He said the country needs a curriculum that stands the taste of time and meets the ever-increasing global trend, noting that the present curriculum is outdated and needs reviews.
“The curriculum is outdated in the sense that it does not meet our present situation. We need a curriculum that stands the taste of the present time, the one that presents solutions to challenges of the contemporary world”, said Musa.
In opening remarks, Dr Peter Ajonson, North East Coordinator, YALI, said the webinar is aimed at discussing and drafting policy directives to the government on the way to tame the ever-increasing rate of school children in the alarming region, adding that there is the need for a holistic approach by all.
