United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Adamawa State Government has advocated for enrollment of out of school children at the grassroots across 21 Local Government Areas of the state.
Speaking at the engagement in Numan Local Government Area on Monday, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, the Chief of UNICEF Bauchi Field Office said, education was the right of every child.
She said all the basic rights of every child needed to be fulfilled, hence the need for traditional leaders to work hard for the children at the grassroots to be educated.
“Today we try to make every effort possible to meet together to bring every child to the school because out of school issue is one of the major problems in Nigeria.
“There are about 18 million children, who do not have access to school, so the UNICEF objective is to bring every child to school including children with disabilities, they have the right to go to school,” she said.
She explained that UNICEF engaged traditional leaders because royal fathers were the backbone of the society.
“They can motivate families, communities and the society for the children to have quality education, retain and transit to secondary school,” she said.
Dr Garba Pella, Commissioner, Ministry of Education said, traditional leaders remained powerful in the community in ensuring sustainable development at the grassroots.
Pella, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Aishatu Umar, said the number of out of school children was on the increase, saying traditional leaders have a vital role to play in addressing the challenge.
AbdulRahaman Ado, UNICEF Education Specialist, said the objective of the advocacy was to awaken the sense of accountability to strengthen the role of traditional leaders in promoting school enrollment, retain and transition.
Mr Adum Alaba, Chairman House Committee on Education, Adamawa assembly, described the issue of out-of-school children as a security threat in the making.
“When children are denied learning opportunities, they are left vulnerable to negative influences such as drug abuse, political thuggery, violent extremism, and other criminal tendencies.
“This is where the traditional institution plays a unique role. As fathers to the land and protectors of the future, you wield unmatched moral authority to drive behavioral change,” he said.
