Tinubu’s Govt to Introduce Cash Transfers to Families to Fight Out-of-School Children Scourge

Tinubu’s Govt to Introduce Cash Transfers to Families to Fight Out-of-School Children Scourge

  • The federal government of Nigeria has introduced a new strategy focused on raising the overall standard of education
  • On Wednesday, November 27, education minister, Tunji Alausa, declared open the stakeholders’ consultative dialogue on the Education Sector Renewal Initiative (ESRI) 2024–2027
  • The top government official noted the importance of integrating out-of-school children into formal education

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering basic and tertiary education in Nigeria and worldwide.

FCT, Abuja - Amid the out-of-school children scourge, the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration on Wednesday, November 27, said it will introduce conditional cash transfers.

The Nigerian Tribune noted this update in a report.

Tinubu reveals plan to reintegrate many out-of-school children in Nigeria
Government officials say President Tinubu wants to keep children in school. Photo credit: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Source: Facebook

Tinubu's govt addresses bottleneck to universal education

According to authorities, the new cash transfer initiative is part of measures to increase school enrolment and reduce the high number of out-of-school children in Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria.

Read also

LASU: Lagos state university's new 10,800-bed hostel gets completed, photos emerge

The conditional cash transfer initiative of the Tinubu government is to encourage parents to release their children for enrolment in schools, with the stipend helping to augment family income and the child’s education.

Other schemes to be adopted as mentioned by Tunji Alausa, minister of state for health and social welfare, include the integration of out-of-school children (OOSC) and Almajiri into formal education, school feeding programs, and Social and Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC) for the education of girls and vulnerable populations.

Speaking in Abuja while declaring open the stakeholders’ consultative dialogue on the Education Sector Renewal Initiative (ESRI) 2024-2027, Alausa said:

“As we all know, the education sector is filled with numerous challenges. As we are aware, infrastructural decay, funding issues, unreliable data intake, cutting, planning, poor capacity, development for teachers, and problems of out-of-school, we have one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children in the nation.

Read also

Fuel: After P'Harcourt refinery success, MURIC lists 3 reasons why Kaduna plant should be next focus

“As a ministry, we are committed to providing quality education to all Nigerians as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the land as beautiful, which ensures inclusive, equitable, and quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all."

Out-of-school children in Nigeria now 18 million

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) decried the increasing number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, saying it is now 18.3 million.

UNICEF bemoaned the development and noted that this alarming figure positions Nigeria as the country with the highest number of out-of-school children globally.

Tushar Rane disclosed this information during a two-day Regional stakeholders engagement meeting in Gombe state.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Ridwan Adeola avatar

Ridwan Adeola (Current Affairs Editor) Ridwan Adeola Yusuf is a content creator with more than nine years of experience, He is also a Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication from the Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State (2014). Ridwan previously worked at Africa Check, contributing to fact-checking research works within the organisation. He is an active member of the Academic Excellence Initiative (AEI). In March 2024, Ridwan completed the full Google News Initiative Lab workshop and his effort was recognised with a Certificate of Completion. Email: ridwan.adeola@corp.legit.ng.