President Bola Tinubu has appointed retired Brig. Gen. Lawal Ja’afaru-Isa the former Military Administrator of Kaduna State as the Executive Secretary of the newly established National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education.
Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, announced the appointment on Friday in Abuja.
Ja’afaru-Isa, who was the military governor of the Kaduna State from 1993 to 1996, will succeed Sha’aban Sharada, the pioneer Executive Secretary of the commission, who was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Tinubu tasked Ja’afaru-Isa with the crucial responsibility of ensuring the realization of the government’s commitment to providing comprehensive education for out-of-school children.
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News Agency of Nigeria reports that the commission was established to implement a diverse educational approach for the millions of children in Nigeria who are not enrolled in school.
Statistics reveal that one out of every three Nigerian children is out of school, with approximately 10.2 million at the primary level and 8.1 million at the junior secondary school level.
According to UNICEF, 12.4 million children have never attended school, while 5.9 million dropped out prematurely.
Nigeria’s out-of-school population constitutes 15% of the global total, with over 50% of girls not attending school at the basic education level.
