Nigeria can tackle out-of-school children with tech — AUN

President of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Margee Ensign has said technology is the best option in tackling the case of the millions of out-of-school children in Nigeria.

Ensign while addressing journalists in Abuja, said irrespective of the number as far as they are in millions, they are too much and that with technology like smartphones knowledge can be transferred to the kids from wherever they are.

She said it was high time they stopped addressing them as outof-school children but should call them ‘children not learning’.

She said many of the children are not learning either because their parents are scared of allowing them to go to school for fear of insurgents, or due to poverty or because they are street kids.

In the quest to get the kids out of the streets, Ensign said AUN adopted the Feed and Read programme which brings kids under a platform where they feed them and teach them how to read and learn basic Mathematics.

Ensign said the programme has been wonderful as it has shown that many children are intelligent and willing to learn.

Speaking on the Chibok girls, she said most of the kidnapped girls are more focused and have the mind-set to change the narrative in Nigeria.

One of the girls that graduated two weeks ago from the university, Mary Katambi said she studied Accounting which he hopes to practice to tackle corruption.

“So we should change the narrative of calling them Chibok girls but begin to see them as resilient women who are focused to change Nigeria.”