Why our children are out of school, by Bauchi parents

Some parents of out-of-school children in Alkaleri Local Council of Bauchi State have explained that their wards were not in school due to their inability to afford tuition, writing materials, levies and uniforms.

The women, who are peasant farmers, said their wards resorted to assisting them on the farm and hawking during school hours.

One of the parents, Asabe Baba, told The Guardian: “My husband has two wives. He is a farmer and the children join him to work on the farm. He is trying his best, but he cannot sponsor their education.

“If the government is ready to sponsor them, we are ready to release them to study in school.”

Citing recent data, Raphael Ayedipe of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bauchi Field Office, said the state has the highest number of out-of-school children, and most of them are from Alkaleri.

The education expert stated that UNICEF decided to engage all the stakeholders to step up enrolment and return the kids to the classroom.

“We cannot be talking about quality education while a large number of our children are not in school,” he added.”

Director of School Service, Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Buba Umar, said government and development partners like UNICEF were making “serious efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children.”