In April this year, the Supervising Minister of Education, Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike led Nigeria’s delegation to the High Level Strategic Meeting to Accelerate Efforts to Reach Out of School Children globally. There are 61million out of school children globally. Of this number, 10.5million are Nigerian children.
It was at this meeting that the Barr. Wike worked out the framework for the international involvement in resolving the nation’s out of school challenge. In the three days that he spent in Doha, Qatar the minister met with top international stakeholders to attract quality investment to the nation’s education sector, with the aim of ensuring that the nation exits the unenviable comity of nations with children who are out of school.
Wike sealed the direct participation of the United Nation’s Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Global Education, Gordon Brown in pushing through the international support to address a challenge that the Federal Government has worked tirelessly to resolve in the course of the last two years.
The Supervising Minister of Education through series of meetings with officials of Educate A Child Foundation International meeting and they committed to assisting Nigeria in improving access to quality education in the country. His diplomatic shuttles across the several meeting venues alongside the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. MacJohn Nwaobiala and Nigeria’s Ambassador to Qatar, Shuaibu Adamu Ahmed, has in the long run, yielded the desired results.
The International Community has keyed into the Federal Government’s expansive programme to create access to quality education for less privileged Nigerians. It’s a worthy partnership that is bound to establish a functional system that will enhance the future of the nation.
Within one week, two strategic international education figures were in Nigeria to clearly unveil their plans to collaborate with Nigeria in the quest to further develop an education sector that is already in the ascendancy.
The United Nation’s Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Global Education, Gordon Brown and the Director General of UNESCO, Ms Irina Bokova were in the country to deliberate and strategize with technocrats and stakeholders in the education sector on the improvement of access to education. The deliberations were at the highest level of government. The President, governors, education commissioners, private sector entrepreneurs, international development partners and civil society groups were all involved.
Expectedly, the results poured in and the nation will experience better days in the education sector. The most outstanding result of the collaboration with the former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown was the realization of $500million (N75Billion) for the improvement of enrolment of less privileged Nigerian children in schools.
Addressing the Accelerating Progress in the Attainment of Education For All in Nigeria Programme at the State House, Brown said that the international community will provide $250million, while the Federal Government of Nigeria has agreed to match the funds with $250million.
The former British Prime Minister noted that the United States Agency for International Development, the British Department for International Development, the Japanese Government, the Educate-A-Child Foundation and the Global Partnership for Education have all made direct commitment to assist the Jonathan administration to push through its laudable programmes in the basic education sector.
He said that the $500million is a new investment targeted at helping Nigeria take advantage of education as a means of developing human resources to drive growth across the country.
Brown urged the Federal Government to use programmes such as free feeding, free uniforms to attract children to school and retain them to learn.
Brown urged the State Governments to take advantage of funds available in the international community to fund education in their respective states, as this is the only legacy they can leave for their people.
He said: “Let us not lose sight of every child having the opportunity of going to school. These children need the opportunity to achieve their potentials. Today as we talk of education, we should remember the dream that no child should be left behind.
“If Luther King had talked about complaints and criticisms, nobody would remember what he said today. It was because he talked about his dream that he is remembered. We have to increase enrolment and remove the barriers that stop children from getting enrolled”.
President Goodluck Jonathan represented by the Vice President Namadi Sambo reiterated his commitment to addressing the nation’s out of school challenge. He said that his commitment to education for all Nigerian children led to his introduction of the Almajiri Education Programme, the Girl Child Education Programme and the enrolment for out of school children in the South-South and South-East regions.
Jonathan said that his administration facilitated the meeting as a landmark step towards ensuring that the 10.5million children out of school children in the country are accommodated in schools across the country.
Speaking on behalf of the organized private sector, President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote announced that the private sector will contribute directly in the funding of the education for all programme. He said the private sector stood to benefit from the improvement of the education sector.
Supervising Minister of Education, Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike explained that the outcome of the meeting with Mr. Gordon Brown indicates the confidence that the international community in the positive investments of the Jonathan administration in the education sector.
UNESCO officials and key UNESCO line ministers met at the Federal Ministry of Education met at the Federal Ministry of Education to fashion out way to improve access to quality education and also eliminate illiteracy to the barest minimum amongst adults.
UNESCO Director General, Irina Bokova outlined key ways that the UN agency would assist Nigeria to address her education challenges, especially in the area of out of school children.
The interest of the international community in the nation’s education sector is a fallout of the recent successes of the administration in its two key policy goals of access and quality in the basic and tertiary sub-sectors. The growth in these areas has been unprecedented over the last two years. Little wonder the international community has now deemed it fit to be fully involved in the quest to re-position education.
As was agreed in all the meetings that involved the nation’s international education partners in the last one week, though the education sector is not where it should be, the high-speed train has definitely left the station and is heading smoothly to its destination. The education sector is no longer at the station where it was in 2011 nd those saying otherwise are still lost in the last train station.
Written By Simeon Nwakaudu
