Human capital development organization expresses deep concern over high rate of out-of-school children in Nasarawa

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By Muhammed Ogwu, Lafia

The Africa Human Capital Development Plus expressed deep concern over high rate of out-school children across the 13 local government areas of Nasarawa state.

The Chief Executive Officer of the organization, Mrs. Finda Koroma raised the alarm while speaking at a one-day stakeholders engagement involving top government officials and traditional rulers in Lafia, the state capital on Wednesday.

She reiterated the commitment of HCD Plus to prioritize the education and skill development of the girl child, and return out-of-school children in Nasarawa State back to classes.

Mrs. Koroma who was represented by the Head of Finance and Administration, Margaret Omanibe, described the alarming rate of out-of-school children in the state as a “ticking time bomb”.

She admonished the stakeholders to intensify efforts in ensuring that every child receives quality education in order to avert future threats across communities in the state.

She, however, disclosed that the five key pillars of the Africa HCD Plus to include health and health security; nutrition and food security, education, skills development and labour participation; entrepreneurship, financial inclusion and digital economy; and gender transformative human capital development.

Her words, “We are here in Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital to demonstrate our continued commitment to supporting the states of Nasarawa, Kano, Kaduna and Lagos in consolidating and scaling up efforts to improve Human Capital Development outcomes in the respective jurisdictions.

“Based on our data, Nigeria is among the world’s 20 nations with the highest number of out-of-school children, estimating in the millions, with more female incidences than male.

“The negative implementation the Almajiri system has for the preparation of children for future productivity is our particular concern. This system has often resulted in children being marginalised from mainstream education due to insufficient resources, lack of formal curriculum and social economic challenges,” she stated.

She further maintained that gender disparities had persisted in the access to education of girls who most times face unique challenges such as early marriages, house hold responsibilities and cultural biases in favour of the boys.

While appreciating the Federal Government of Nigeria for its various support to ensure the success of the Human Capital Development agenda in across the nation, Mrs. Koroma added that a multiple indicator cluster survey of year 2021 had suggested that a percentage of women within the ages of 20 to 24 years marry before age 15 in Nigeria, adding that the issue was a matter of great concern to the organisation.

Nasarawa State Deputy Governor and Chairman of the state’s Human Capital Development Agency, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe stated that the HCD was a top priority of the Governor Abdullahi Sule-led administration.

Dr. Akabe who was represented by the Director General of the Agency, Mrs. Habiba Balarabe Suleiman noted that in order to reach many residents across in Nasarawa State, the agency had expanded its thematic areas to six which includes health and nutrition; education; labour force participation; youth; social development; and local government and community development.

The deputy governor, therefore, revealed that through the Human Capital Development, many residents including the girls will be better educated and empowered in the shortest possible time.

His words, “The issue of out-of-school children is an issue that needs to be resolved as soon as possible. When we talk about out-of-school children, we are talking about a very high number and large population of people who did not receive not just the formal education but necessary skills.

“For the girl child, we understand that some of the challenges they are facing have some traditional or religious colorations, weather they are properly presented or misconstrued, we need to unravel them so that we can have a society where each and everyone of us have an equal platform to contribute and receive from the society.”

Dr. Akabe then applauded the Africa HCD Plus for its gracious grant of 30,000 dollars given for the implementation of the agenda in the state.

“I want to assure you (Africa HCD Plus) that we have been able to move to a higher level. We have been able to meet several stakeholders and carried out advocacy visits, and what I can tell you is that the responses we have received are quite encouraging and they are beginning to show their impacts,” he stated.

Collaborating, the Consultant of Africa HCD Plus, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, highlighted the adverse effects of early marriages on girls’ education, and urged the stakeholders to advocate for policies that delays marriage until the girls are better prepared mentally and physically.

“There are so many things that comes from early marriages that we don’t realise. Marriage deferred does not mean that there won’t be marriage. It is mainly to ensure better homes for the girls. So, we really need to start advocating to get the girls developed so that they can earn a decent living and support the family,” she said.

Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage (rtd) who was represented by the Ubangari Lafia, Usman Isa Baba affirmed the Emirate’s commitment to supporting initiatives focused on reducing the number of out-of-school children in the state.

During the stakeholders engagement, participants including Busayo Raymond Ayinde from the Federal Ministry of Education’s Basic Department, expressed their gratitude to the Africa HCD Plus for working towards addressing the educational needs of the vulnerable populations in the country.