Reps probe MDAs over funds to tackle out-of-school children menace

The House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Alternative Education to investigate the disbursement of billions of funds meant to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria through the Alternate School Programme (ASP), Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) and At-Risk Children Programmer (ARC-P).

It is to particularly beam its searchlight on the roles of the MDAs concerned and report back within four (4) weeks for further legislative action. The directive followed the adoption of a motion by Tijjani Ismail Kayode at the plenary on Tuesday.

Presenting the motion, Kayode said despite efforts from the   Nigerian government,   International   Development   Partners,   and   Non-governmental organisations, the issue of out-of-school children remains a persistent challenge in Nigeria.

He recalled that in October 2019, the Ministry of Education confirmed that the federal government committed the sum of N 10,000,000,000 for the removal of 10.2 million out-of-school children from the streets within five years to enrol two million children annually.

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“On 31 January 2022, the federal government adopted the then Presidential Committee on Alternate Education report and renewed its commitment to providing educational opportunities for over 10 million out-of-school children through the Alternate School Programme (ASP) under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs. Over 200 billion naira was allocated for the initiative.

“The Alternate School Programme was an initiative of the federal government aimed at improving access to education for Nigerian children, eliminating or substantially reducing child begging, fostering tolerance, unity, and integration of all children with diverse backgrounds, and reviewing and approving all work and implementation plans that enhanced the effective delivery of providing alternative schooling in Nigeria,” he said.

The lawmaker further informed that a similar intervention by the World Bank worth 750 million USD was accessed and utilised within the last four years through Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) for the enrolment of out-of-school children in Nigeria.