DOTS: 4 million Out-of-school children now back in Class – FG

Minister for Education, Prof Tahir Mamman, has said the number of out-of-school children so far returned to the classrooms has reached four million through the DOTS initiative of the Federal Government.

DOTS is an acronym for Data Repository, Out-of-School Children Education, Teacher Training & Development, and Skill Development & Acquisition.

In June, the ministry had announced that over 2 million children returned to the classes through the programme.

Speaking at the 2nd International Conference of Kwara State universities (KU8+), Mamman disclosed that four million children have now been returned to the classrooms.

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The theme of the event was “Shaping Sustainable Future: Connecting University and Industries Through Joint Initiatives”.

According to him, “Of note is our transformative reform through the DOTS. I am glad to inform you that from the DOTS, four million young Nigerians have now been reintegrated into the education system through various agencies of the federal ministry of education.”

He, however, said more still needs to be done especially in the light of the last 10 days protest.

“But I believe a lot more needs to be done especially when you look at the streets of Nigeria in the past 10 days. You know there is still a lot to be done to bring back those children loitering the street into proper ecosystem,” said Mamman who was represented by Acting NUC Executive Secretary, Amb Chris Maiyaki.

He said nation or industry can grow without the input of universities, adding that the level of cooperation between tertiary institutions and universities is still low.

“This is why we have not really developed as countries like Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia and others. The academia and industries must work together to ensure we have a better nation”, he added.

In his address, the VC of Al-Hikmah, Prof Noah Yusuf, called for more collaboration between universities and industries to harness collective strength for sustainable solutions.