UNICEF, GPE, Nasarawa govt return 10,353 pupils to school

The United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) and Global Partnership for Education, in conjunction with the Nasarawa State Government, say they have returned no fewer than 10,353 out-of-school pupils back to school in two local government areas (LGAs) of the state.

Th e State Desk Officer of UNICEF in the Ministry of Education, Mr Ali Musa, disclosed this to journalists in Lafia, the state capital, recently at a workshop to review the progress
report from the last engagement and make recommendations on the activities.

“Out of the 205 schools in Lafia and 165 schools in Nasarawa LGAs, 6,116 male and 4,237 female children were returned to school under the project,” he said.

He noted that the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has and is still ravaging the economies of so many nations, led to the loss of jobs by parents and was one of the reasons
children dropped out of school in the state.

While noting that UNICEF came up with the back-to-school initiative to assist in returning those who dropped out as a result of the COVID-19 and other reasons, he said the project is
currently being implemented across 370 primary schools in Lafia and Nasarawa LGAs.

Earlier, the state Commissioner for Education and Science and Technology, Mrs Fatu Sabo, represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at the ministry, Mr Abdulkareem
Bala, explained that the government had since keyed into the initiative to ensure that every child of school going age is in school.