Orelope-Adefulire commends Buhari over ‘30% drop in out-of-school children’

Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, senior special assistant to the president on sustainable development goals (SDGs), has commended President Muhammadu Buhari on the “reduction in the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria”.

In a statement on Sunday to mark the 2020 International Education Day, Orelope-Adefulire said recent data shows that the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria has reduced from 10.1 million in 2019 to 6.95 million in 2020.

According to the presidential aide, the development was announced by Adamu Adamu, the minister of education, at a recent annual briefing of his ministry in Abuja.

She said the reduction was through the federal government’s Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) initiative.

Orelope-Adefulire said the reported reduction in the number of out-of-school children was a reflection of the importance attached to education by the Buhari administration.

The presidential aide also commended the minister of education, the World Bank and other stakeholders who contributed to the achievement.

She added that the International Education Day, which comes up every January 24, is being marked under the theme ‘Recover and Revitalise Education for the COVID-19 Generation’ in recognition of the unprecedented disruptions of learning by the pandemic across the world.

“In this vein, I commend our leaders at the national and sub-national levels for their commitment which has resulted in safe return of our children to schools across the country as well as our teachers for helping to keep our wards safe by ensuring that they adhere to all the necessary protocols to limit the spread of COVID-19,” the presidential aide said.

Orelope-Adefulire said her office will continue to contribute its own quota as well as support other stakeholders in efforts to achieve the goal of the 2030 agenda of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning for all.