President Muhammadu
Buhari has inaugurated an 18-member Presidential Steering Committee on
Alternate School Programme ASP. At the inauguration which took place at the
Presidential Villa January 26, 2021, President Buhari charged the
ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to
coordinate and lead the deployment of a National Plan which will address the
issue of out-of-school children in the country.
The President said that it was unacceptable to see children abandoning
formal school to engage in menial jobs and child labour in the markets, streets
and workshops. ‘‘While we continue to sustain our efforts on providing formal
and conventional education through the activities of the Universal Basic
Education Commission under the Federal Ministry of Education, it is still a
common sight to notice children abandoning formal school to become apprentices
in shops, workshops and markets, whilst many others choose to loiter at
markets, become cart pushers and hawkers. These are not acceptable”. President
Buhari implored all members of the committee to take the assignment with utmost
seriousness adding that “the future of our young people is at stake”. Earlier,
the Chairman of the Committee Umar Farouq thanked the President for his
support to the Ministry and for granting the approval for the
Alternate School Programme. The minister noted that the number of Out-of
-School children was increasing at an alarming rate, adding that there is
urgent need to address the problem with deft response required of such an
exigent matter. “Education serves as a catalyst for the all-round growth and
development of any individual. Thus, for any nation to thrive, adequate investment
in human capital, by increasing access to quality education, must be
prioritised.
The United Nations
identifies quality education as one of the most powerful and proven vehicles
for attaining sustainable development”. The Minister lamented the challenges
facing the country due to the growing number of out of school children which
cuts across the entire nation. “Those mostly affected by this scourge include
the girl-child, predominantly in the North, almajiri-children in the North,
children of nomadic pastoralists spread across the country, incidence of boy
child drop-out mainly in the South-East and South-South regions, street
children in the South-West, commonly referred to as area boys, particularly
around the Lagos axis, children of migrant fishermen in the South-South, and
more recently the internally displaced children in the North-East, occasioned
by the Boko Haram insurgency and insecurity”. Umar Farouq assured the President
that the Committee will leverage on the Ministry’s social protection instruments
including N-Power, the Conditional Cash Transfer and the Home-Grown School
Feeding Programmes to provide tailored delivery mechanisms targeted at the
country’s out of school children. “By integrating basic education with
religious education and vocational training, the Alternate School Programme
will increase access to education without altering social norms and cultures.
Consequently, every child, including those in the most peculiar of
circumstances, will have access to learning opportunities”.
According to UNICEF, Nigeria currently has the highest number of out of school
children globally, while it is estimated that approximately 10.5 million
children aged 5 to 14 years are not in school. Statistics also show that only
61 per cent of children within the 6 to 11-year age bracket regularly attend
primary school while the North has an abysmal net attendance rate of 35.6
per cent. The Alternate School Programme, is an innovative and flexible
approach to learning and skills development, ensuring that education is
designed to specifically address the needs of the target beneficiaries and is
delivered conveniently, without unnecessary encumbrances. By targeting out of
school children, the program will ensure that more children are equipped with
basic literacy skills, reasoning capabilities and technical and vocational
expertise that will enable them to live fulfilled lives. It is also expected to
significantly reduce the number of out of school children in Nigeria, provide
access to inclusive and equitable quality education, eliminate child labour,
facilitate the effective integration of religious discipline and vocational
training with basic education, provide opportunities for children to develop
life supporting skills from vocational and entrepreneurship training to improve
their chances of future success, improve the quality and outcome of basic
education in the country and foster tolerance, unity, and integration of all
children with diverse backgrounds into the larger society.
The Presidential Steering Committee has been mandated to: Refine the vision of the initiative, Ensure engagement and effective uptake of the ASP initiative across the country, Review and approve all work, implementation plan, expected deliverables, feedbacks and reports as proposed and Undertake any other task that can enhance the effective delivery of the initiative by the Ministry. Members
1.Minister, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development – Chairman
2.Minister of Education Co-Chairman
3.Minister of State of Education Member
4.Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Sustainable Development Goals – Member
5.Minister of State, Budget and National Planning – Member
6.Chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum – Member
7.Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC)-Member
8.Director General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) – Member
9.National President, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) – Member
10.Representative, United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Representative – Member
11.Representative, United Nations’ International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) – Member
12.Representative, Global Partnership for Education – Member
13.Chair, Private Sector Advisory Group (SDGs) – Member