Niger launches enrollment for out-of-school children

Niger State Government and officials during a Press conference

Niger State Ministry for Basic and Secondary Education will launch a comprehensive enrollment drive to increase the number of students in schools in the state.

Hajiya Hadiza Mohammed, Niger Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, disclosed this at a press conference in Minna on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the enrollment drive was under the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE).

She said the campaign was aimed at increasing enrollment in primary and secondary schools, adding the number of out-of-school children in the state from 2021 to 2022 was 600,000.

“This initiative seeks to address the challenges of low enrollment and ensure every child has access to quality education,” she said.

Mohammed said the campaign would commence from Tuesday to Sept. 19, starting with community sensitization across zonal, emirates, district, and door-to-door visitations across local government areas.

She said educational resources and incentives would be distributed to schools as well as the establishment of a feedback mechanism to address concerns from parents and guardians.

She noted that the target was out-of-school children with focus on the girl-child to enroll in primary and secondary schools.

The commissioner added that communities, parents, and guardians would be sensitized on the importance of education as well as encouraged to enroll their children.

She said workshops and outreaches would also be conducted and partnership with local NGOs, religious organizations and community leaders.

Mohammed said the objectives was to increase enrollment figures, improve awareness and strengthen partnerships between government, schools and local communities.

In his remarks, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim, Chairman Niger state Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB), said the campaign was a holistic approach to increase school enrollment.