Adult Education Critical To Addressing Out-Of-School Children Phenomena – FG

The Federal Government has underscored the need to pay close attention to adult education as it was one way of addressing the menace of out-of-school children which the country has been battling with for years.

Education Minister, Prof.Tahir Mamman and the Minister of State for Education Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu who unanimously stressed the need to tackle adult illiteracy in the country, maintained that educated adults were more prone to educating their children.

Speaking at a briefing session with the leadership of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education, both ministers noted that adult illiterates constitute the fountain from which out-of-school children keep flowing

According to the Education Minister, Prof.Tahir Mamman, one of the fundamental ways to deal with the ever-increasing number of school children was to educate the parents as an educated parent was more likely to educate his or her child.

Mamman who identified funding, advocacy and commitment as key elements necessary in tackling the menace of adult illiteracy, directed the leadership of the National Commission for Mass Literacy to furnish his office with the current number of adult illiterates in the Country, their location and strategies for taking them off that shelve.

Aligning with the Mamman, the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu emphasised that adequate funding was critical in raising the Literacy level of the country.

Dr. Sununu who wondered why the National Commission for Mass Literacy was removed from the funding envelope of the Annual National Budget, promised to take up the matter with his former colleagues at the National Assembly.

Earlier, the Director General of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education, Prof Simon Akpama told the Ministers that investment in the Adult Education subsector has the potential to not only improve the overall Literacy level of the country but will also drastically reduce the number of out of school children in Nigeria.