FG criticizes UNESCO report, claiming that only 2.8 m out of school.

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

On December 17, 2020, the “Coalition of Northern Groups” (CNG) will hold a rally in Katsina, Nigeria’s northwestern state, to urge authorities to rescue hundreds of abducted schoolboys. On December 16, 2020, security and local sources said that Boko Haram had recruited three local gangs in northwest Nigeria to kidnap hundreds of schoolboys on its behalf. The attack took place hundreds of kilometers from Boko Haram’s base in northeast Nigeria, where the group launched a brutal insurgency a decade ago. (AFP photo by Kola SULAIMON)

Chibok community laments the continued abandonment of 110 girls in Boko Haram’s den.

The Federal Government yesterday refuted a report issued by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that claimed Nigeria has one of the highest rates of out-of-school children in the world. According to a UNESCO report released last month, Nigeria has 20 million out-of-school children due to insecurity and kidnapping of schoolchildren.

Hajia Binta Abdulkadir, Director, Senior Secondary Education, Federal Ministry of Education, refuted this claim yesterday during an annual summit of the Education Writers Association of Nigeria (EWAN), saying government efforts, such as the Basic Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA), among others, have contributed to a drastic reduction of the alleged 20 million figure.

According to Abdulkadir, who cited Education Minister Mallam Adamu Adamu, only 2.8 million school-age children are absent.

“The country’s security situation has had a domino effect on Nigerians’ literacy level, as insurgency also destroyed 497 classrooms and left 2.8 million school learners in need of education-in-emergency support.”

Tokunbo Wahab, the Special Adviser on Education for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, sought collaborative efforts in addressing the challenges that cause children to drop out of school.

The theme, ‘Towards Safe Schools in Nigeria,’ according to EWAN Chairman Mojeed Alabi, was chosen to draw attention to the importance of stakeholder safety in schools.
MEANWHILE, the government has ignored over 100 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists in the Northeast eight years ago, according to Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA), also known as Chibok Community.

The community claimed that the release of the remaining Abuja-Kaduna train attack victims last week demonstrated that the government had abandoned them, including their school-age children.

In 2014, dozens of terrorists stormed the Chibok girls’ boarding school and loaded 276 students, aged 12 to 17, into trucks. They claim that 110 of their daughters have gone missing since the mass abduction in April 2014, when 57 escaped (on their own).

Dauda Ndirpaya Iliya, National President of KADA, stated that the issue of the Chibok girls and the ongoing attacks on their communities is still ongoing.

“The most recent Chibok attack occurred on October 3, 2022, in Njlang, a village just 5 kilometers away from Chibok,” Iliya said.

The group urged President Muhammadu Buhari to save the Chibok community, an ethnic nationality, from annihilation at the hands of Boko Haram terrorists.