The Federal Govt has doled out Two Hundred and Twenty Billion Naira to endemic states to tackle the out of school children phenomenon ravaging the country.
Minister of State for Education, Hon Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba who disclosed this Sunday in Yola, the Adamawa state capital in an address at the launch of the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) program in the state said, the fund is a credit facility from the World Bank to Nigeria being given to the states as grant to enable the fight the scourge of out of school children as well as strengthen basic education in their respective jurisdictions.
Hon Nwajiuba stated that the cardinal objective of the BESDA program is to increase equitable access for out of school children, improve literacy and strengthen accountability at the basic education level.
According to the minister, the program is focused on the 17 states in the country, which includes the entire 13 states of the North West and North East geo_political zones as well as OYo, Ebony and Rivers states. The minister explained in the selection of the states is based on the prevalence of the scourge.Speaking further, the minister said, BESDA became effective in 2018 with the commencement of implementation processes at the Federal level, adding that all key activities at the federal level to kick start implementation of the program by the focus states have been completed.
According to the minister, each beneficiary state is expected to commence implementation in line with specific steps and guidelines provided under the program, noting that Adamawa state has successfully commenced the implementation process. Nwajiuba maintained that ensuring that out of school children are in school is not only a moral and legal obligation but also a productive investment that will guarantee the future of our children as enshrined in the child rights Act of 2003.
Speaking at the ocassion, Adamawa state Gov Ahmadu Fintiri applauded the efforts of the Federal govt in bridging the BESDA program to the state, adding that he directed the implementation of the program two months after assumption of office to show the enthusiasm of the state towards the program.
Gov Fintiri indicated that so far, over 50’000 children have already been taken off the streets in Adamawa. In order to ensure the success of the program, the gov said he has already established a strong implementation team which include traditional and religious leaders in all the local govts and districts of the state.
The training of teachers otherwise known as facilitators for the program has already been completed. Efforts are on to integrate the amajiri and tsangaya systems into the BESDA program.The gov said special consideration and arrangements will be made in the program for the girl child
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