Stakeholders Hail Kaduna’s Model On Out-Of-School Children

Stakeholders in the education sector have hailed the Kaduna State government’s Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROOSC) initiative as a model for other states in tackling the challenges of Almajiri and out-of-school children.

The commendation came during the National Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) advocacy and stakeholders’ engagement on Almajiri and out-of-school children in Kaduna.

At the event, the special adviser to the Minister of Education on Almajiri and Out-of-School Children, Dr Balarabe Shehu Kakale, said the federal government had introduced new reforms to ensure that every Nigerian child returned to school and acquired relevant knowledge and skills.

He highlighted Kaduna’s leadership in implementing the ROOSC project and other education reforms, saying the state’s experience could provide lessons for scaling up interventions across the country. “We commend the Kaduna State government for implementing several reforms through the ROOSC project. Kaduna is a model that can serve as a lesson for scaling up interventions across the country to address out-of-school children,” Kakale said.

Kakale urged states to adopt and adapt the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education Act and other relevant policies to address their specific challenges.

Earlier, the coordinator of the Kaduna ROOSC Project, Mr Ezra Angai, said the state had adopted a comprehensive approach to reintegrating out-of-school children into formal education and alternative learning programmes.

He said the project was targeting the reintegration of 100,000 out-of-school children, adding that 187,912 had been identified across the state’s 23 local government areas. “More than 25,000 children have already been re-enrolled through the ROOSC programme,” Angai said.

According to him, the project had established Accelerated Basic Education Centres and interventions within Tsangaya schools, which he described as important community learning centres.

He added that Kaduna had signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with 25 Tsangayas with 6,326 learners, while plans were underway to engage 50 more. Angai added that 272 schools, including 102 new ones, were part of the project. Infrastructure improvements would benefit six Tsangayas in the first phase and another 27 in the second phase.

Angai acknowledged the support of development partners, including the Islamic Development Bank, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Global Partnership for Education, Education Above All, Save the Children International and UNICEF. Representing the Executive Secretary (ES) of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education, Malam Halliru Musa Halliru said the commission had developed a 10-year strategic plan for 2025–2035. He said the commission had also established 119 learning centres nationwide, while more than 700,000 out-of-school children had been mapped to facilitate targeted interventions and enrolment.

Kaduna State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Abubakar Sani Sambo, identified poverty as a major factor driving children out of school, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas.

The engagement brought together government agencies, traditional rulers, Islamic scholars, Tsangaya owners, civil society organisations and development partners.