UBEC enlists traditional, religious leaders to tackle out-of-school crisis

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) is teaming up with traditional and religious leaders in a bid to combat the crisis of out-of-school children in Nigeria. The commission hopes that these community leaders will use their influence to identify children who are not attending school and help them enroll in nearby schools.

This initiative also involves community-level monitoring to ensure that enrolled children do not drop out. The partnership was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding between the commission and the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development. The aim is to mobilize traditional and religious institutions to bolster community participation in basic education, especially in underserved areas where factors like poverty and cultural barriers hinder children's access to schooling.

The agreement includes developing advocacy materials in local languages and identifying out-of-school children at the household level. The Executive Secretary of UBEC emphasized the importance of involving these leaders in shaping community values and mobilizing support. The partnership will also focus on improving access to education for girls, who face additional social and cultural barriers.

Currently, Nigeria has over 10.2 million out-of-school children, with 45 percent in the North-West and 28 percent in the North-East. The Federal Government has taken several steps to address the issue, including returning over one million children to classrooms and launching a nationwide mapping exercise to identify the exact number of out-of-school children.