Officials of Kano state Ministry of Education and villagers discussing the way forward on the syndrome of out-of-school children in the state

By Maduabuchi Nmeribeh/ Kano

Kano state Ministry of. Education has commenced the assessment of the population of out-of-school children in the state, ahead of a proposed sensitization campaign designed to curb the ugly trend.

A Statement by Balarabe Abdullahi Kiru, Director of Public Enlightenment of the  Ministry, indicated that officials have embarked on an assessment tour to rural areas in the state.

The tour aims to identify the causes of the problem of out-of-school children and find solutions through community engagement.

According to UNICEF statistics, Kano has approximately 837,479 out-of-school children, a staggering number that the state is working to address.

The assessment team, led by Hajiya Amina Kassim, State Coordinator for Girl Child Education, has visited several rural communities, including Bange village in Albasu local government area and Mawashi in Garko local government area.

The team engaged with parents, traditional leaders, and religious leaders to discuss the root causes of out-of-school children and potential solutions.

Addressing the people in the two communities,  Hajiya Amina Kassim explained that the tour is part of the ministry’s effort to embark on an intensive sensitization campaign to areas identified with problems.

She identified key factors contributing to the high number of out-of-school children in rural areas including poverty, insecurity, and socio-cultural norms.

” To address these challenges, the Kano State Government has declared a state of emergency on education which demonstrates its commitment to improving education outcomes, ” she said.

Highlighting the importance of the tour, the Vice Chairman of, the School Basic Management Committee,  Alhaji Garba Adamu Wudil maintained that the assessment tour is a crucial step towards developing effective strategies to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Kano State.

He noted that by engaging with local communities and stakeholders, the government would better understand the complexities of out-of-school children and work towards providing quality education for all.

Speaking on behalf of the communities, the Village Head of Kafin Malamai in Garko Local Government Area,  Mukhtar Aliyu, and the representative of the Village Head of Bange in Wudil Local Government Area, Yau Ibrahim Bange,  in their separate remarks, commended the effort of the present administration in overhauling the education sector.

They further appealed to the government to establish more Senior secondary schools in the communities to accommodate the number of students who completed their Junior Secondary Schools yearly.