11m Nigerian children out of school, says agency

From the National Agency for Mass Literacy, Adult And Non-Formal Education yesterday came a startling disclosure that 11 million children are out of school nationwide.

Its Executive Director, Professor Abba Abubakar Haladu, who made the disclosure during a visit to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu in Umuahia, Abia State, decried the country’s dismal mass literacy record.

He commended the governor for his efforts towards curbing illiteracy, urging him to equip the state’s mass literacy agency for optimal performance.

Haladu congratulated the state for topping the table in the West African School Certificate (WASCE) examinations in the last two years. He also lauded graduands of the state-owned university in Uturu for excelling at the Nigeria Law School examinations.

The governor, describing education as a catalyst for social integration and religious tolerance, restated his commitment to reposition the agency for better delivery.

Ikpeazu, who was a university lecturer, traced the high crime rate in the country to bad governance.