The National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE) has disclosed that it has documented 700,000 out-of-school children across Nigeria.

The Executive Secretary of NCAOOSCE, Dr Muhammad Idris, disclosed this at the maiden edition of the Benue Basic Education Summit organised by the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE), and Universal Learning Solutions (ULS) in Makurdi.

As part of efforts to curb the menace, the Governor of Benue state Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia launched the Brace Up Project and has also inaugurated student marshals across all local government areas of the state to monitor and identify out-of-school children within their communities.

Governor Alia in his opening remarks at the occasion reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to free and compulsory basic education for every child in Benue State, declaring that access to education remains a fundamental right that must not be denied any child.

Governor Alia commended UBEC for supporting Benue and choosing the state for the flag-off of distribution of school kits, assuring that the gesture would not be taken for granted. He pointed out that the quality of basic education in Benue has improved tremendously under his watch.

“We must now move from building schools to building futures. It is in this spirit that we convened this summit,” the governor said, stressing that the gathering was designed to generate actionable strategies anchored on international best practices.

He described the summit as more than a policy dialogue, saying it marked the launch of a historic project aimed at guaranteeing access to compulsory education and ensuring that every Benue child is enrolled in school.

“To demonstrate our political will, I will hereby donate a bus and a Hilux van for the Project Brace Up,” he announced. The governor reassured citizens that basic education in the state remains free and urged parents and guardians to take advantage of the opportunity.

He commended teachers for their tireless dedication to the growth of education in Benue. He also lauded the Executive Chairman of Benue SUBEB, Dr Grace Adagba, for what he described as her “dedication and relentless effort in ensuring that basic education in the state remains a moving train,” urging stakeholders and community leaders to forge partnerships that would strengthen the system.

Alia also appreciated the NCAOOSCE for handing over data of out-of-school children to the state government, disclosing that school supplies had already been provided for the first 525 children reintegrated into the school system.

“Let me assure the commission that government will continue with the initiative until out-of-school children are fully reintegrated,” he said, while thanking UBEC, UNICEF and ULS for providing additional school materials.

Former Governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam who also graced the occasion identified poverty as a major factor fueling the out-of-school crisis in Nigeria, describing the national figures as alarming and in need of decisive intervention.

The Tor Tiv, His Royal Majesty Prof. James Ayatse, called for the integration of religious and traditional leaders in the campaign against out-of-school children, noting that they would play a critical role in reversing the trend. He urged support for the governor, saying he had done so much for the sector and should be encouraged to do more.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Hajiya Aisha Garba, commended Benue for its tangible reforms in the basic education sector. She also noted the recent reforms introduced by UBEC which had enabled states to access over N100 billion in counterpart funding. “What we are doing is to ensure that no child is left behind, and central to what we are doing is the reform of UBEC,” she said, praising Benue SUBEB for its collaboration and deliberate steps to change the narrative.

Presenting the governor’s scorecard, Dr. Grace Adagba said Benue had aligned with national education targets, revived free nursery public schools, expanded early childhood education and improved infrastructure and security in schools.

She disclosed that over 9,000 teachers had been employed with improved welfare packages, including payment of Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) allowances and implementation of a harmonised retirement age for teachers. “With the collaboration with UBEC, agricultural education has been revived. Governor Alia is working, but he is not a man for the camera; he has allowed his footprints to speak about his monumental achievements,” Dr. Adagba said.

his remark, the Chief Executive Officer of ULS, Gary Foxcroft described the summit as a demonstration of shared commitment to improving basic education in Benue and announced the donation of 1,000 Jolly Phonics books to support Benue SUBEB with their out-of-school children initiative. He commended UBEC and Benue State government for their leadership: “This initiative by Governor Alia and Dr. Grace Adagba is truly inspiring,” Foxcroft said, “Benue SUBEB has shown real ownership, ensuring the teachers and the young learners are supported to sustain impact. Nigeria should be proud of this initiative and what has already been achieved through this collaboration.”

He added that Universal Learning Solutions will further support Benue SUBEB with internationally recognised and evidence-based Jolly Phonics programme – a child-centred structured pedagogy method of teaching literacy through synthetic phonics. Registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) Dr. Ronke Soyombo on her part lauded the reform agenda of the Alia-led administration saying under his leadership Benue had witnessed unimaginable transformation in the Basic Education sector. She noted that the impressive record of Governor Alia coupled with the drive of Dr. Adagba in Benue SUBEB, the state is on the right track to fight the menace of out-of-school-children.

Highlight of the event was the presentation of a gold award to the Benue state governor by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in recognition of his education-friendly policies, a gesture the governor said would inspire his administration to do even more. (The Guardian)