Kano State Government has inaugurated an 18-member committee aimed at reducing the number of out-of-school children in the state.
Speaking at the inauguration in his office on Monday, Commissioner for Education, Dr Ali Haruna Makoda, said the Kano State Out-of-School Children Education Initiative Committee was designed “to address challenges of reaching children and youth who were not enrolled into school or dropped out of the formal schooling system”.
A statement by the ministry’s Director of Public Enlightenment, Balarabe Abdullahi Kiru, quoted the commissioner as saying the committee is mandated “to ensure increasing access to education by children who had never been enrolled to school, re-enrolment of school dropouts, expanding educational opportunities and improving the quality of education”.
He added that the committee would also “develop foundational skills, life skills, employment opportunities for every child, and address the real causes of out-of-school children by fighting poverty and reducing child labour”.
“This committee is assigned to come up with clear process of tackling security concerns and encouragement of community engagement to achieve better education in the state,” the statement said.
The committee is chaired by the Technical Adviser to the Governor on Education Reform, Haladu Muhammad, and draws members from government agencies, traditional leaders, academia, development partners and civil society organisations.
Dr Makoda urged them to “work diligently to achieve the desired results.”
Responding on behalf of the chairman, the State Lead of PLANE-FCDO, Umar Lawan, assured the commissioner of their commitment “to justify the confidence reposed in us”.
