13 July 2008
The Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC) says about 10 million school age children are presently out of school.
"Although we have about 24.77 million children in primary schools, it's a fact that some children of school age still roam the streets," said UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr Ahmed Modibbo.
Modibbo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the weekend in Abuja that the situation was so in spite of efforts by the commission to ensure that all children of school age were in school.
"This is a great challenge to us in our quest to ensure enrolment for all school age children.
"We also face other challenges especially in the area of catering for the physically challenged, the mentally retarded and children with special needs," he said.
Modibbo said UBEC had been making efforts to integrate Qur'anic education into its programme in a bid to increase enrolment in northern states.
He lamented that the UBE programme had not recorded significant impact in spite of the huge resources invested in it by the federal government.
"It is sad to note that in spite of about N90 billion disbursed to the states in the last three years, nothing significant has been achieved.
"There is no gainsaying that the implementation of the UBE programme cannot be adjudged to be a complete success story," Modibbo said.
He said most states failed to use funds for the purpose they were disbursed for. (NAN)
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