Education stakeholders have identified multiple school levies as one of the key factors driving Nigerian children out of school.
The stakeholders spoke to NAN on the sidelines of a ground-breaking summit on Nigeria’s out-of-school crisis, hosted by the UK charity, IA-Foundation, which ended in Lagos on Sunday.
The theme of the summit was: “Street to School: Panacea to a Menace”.
In her contribution, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of IA-Foundation, Mrs Ibironke Adeagbo, argued that governments at all levels should take immediate steps to discourage multiple levies in schools.
She affirmed that multiple levies in schools were imposing heavy burdens on many parents, forcing them to resort to the option of withdrawing their children and wards from schools.
According to her, it has become imperative to apply practical, proactive and pragmatic approaches for Nigeria to change the narrative in the out-of-school crisis.
The British-born Adeagbo, who has thrown her hat into the ring to make a difference in Nigeria’s education sector, lamented that having 20.2 million out-of-school children in Nigeria was distressing.
“In global comparison, one out of every five out-of-school children is in Nigeria.
“UNESCO says that Nigeria has 20.2 million children out of school, which give or take is 10 percent of our population.
“If this does not keep you awake at night, I wonder what does.
“This menace should be a burning issue and should no longer be business as usual.
“Together, we shall strive to make a difference that will help change the current trajectory,” Adeagbo asserted.
On his views, Mrs Mojisola Hunponu-Wusu, a panelist at the event, said that everyone must contribute to the reduction of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
“Members of the family should realize that there must be a contribution to that and reallocation of what they consider a priority for children both male and female to be educated to optimal levels,” she stated.
