Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working in Bauchi State yesterday called on the state government to improve its enrollment drive to curb the issue of out-of-school pupils in the state.
The team leader of the CSOs, Mr Suleiman Ahmed, stated this during an Advocacy to the Bauchi State Ministry of Education in Bauchi.
Governor Bala Mohammed, in 2020, expressed concern that the state had the highest number of out-of-school children of 1.4 million in the country.
This was as the Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board (BASUBEB), said it had enrolled 154,000 out-of-school children into basic and post-basic schools in the past year.
Ahmed expressed concern about the fate of children’s education, security of schools, and nutrition.
He attributed the rise in the number of out-of-school children to the influx of children into the state.
He said school enrollment was a collective responsibility for all, hence the need to strengthen partnerships among stakeholders.
Ahmed urged all tiers of government to increase education funding, create targeted interventions and support the marginalised groups of children.
“The state government should emphasise the need for adequate distribution of teachers, infrastructure and learning materials.
“Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities should be frequently inspected and with adequate supervision,” he stressed.
The team leader noted that the distribution of school materials would support enrollment, retention and transition of children.
He, however, explained that the team of CSOs in the state received a grant under the state accountability, transparency and effectiveness (state2state) scheme with funding from the United States Aid for International Development (USAID) to promote and strengthen good governance in the state.
The Permanent Secretary Mr Sule Madara said the administration had outlined policies and programmes to enhance quality education in the state.
He added that over time, school enrollment had improved but much more still needed to be done.
Madara urged the team to contribute with programmes that could transform the education system and development of the state.