Alternate School Programme: FG to identify 10m out-of-school children

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, says the Federal government is working to identify 10 million out-of-school children to engage them in schools under the Alternate School Programme.

She said this in Abuja yesterday during the steering committee meeting for the Alternate School Programme.

“According to the National Bureau of Statistics, we have over 10 million out-of-school children in the country. This committee is setting out the platform to collate this data from NBS and other sources to see how we can kick-start this programme.

“In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, we’ve spent the last few weeks in engagement with various stakeholders, in a bid to refine and strengthen the ASP concept towards successful implementation of this programme, for it is upon this foundation that we can begin to erect necessary building blocks.

“Let us all remain mindful that the Alternate School Programme possesses the potential for every child to gain access to quality education, irrespective of social, cultural or economic standing, as well as provide a means of improving household incomes for their respective families, through the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programmes, as delivered through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

“It also seeks to equip children with the requisite skills and wherewithal to engage with and contribute meaningfully to the Nigerian economy.”