The Federal Government has called on the World Bank to assist Nigeria in slashing the number of out-of-school children from 10 to 5 million by the year 2023.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, stated this in Abuja on Wednesday when a World Bank delegation led by its Country Director, Shubham Chawdry, paid him a visit.
According to him, the reduction was in line with the goal of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in providing qualitative education for Nigerian children, irrespective of their economic backgrounds.
Mr Adamu expressed discomfort at the number of out-of-school children in the country.
The minister said that the Federal Government was keen on reducing the number in addition to improving the standard of education in the country.
He said that the Education Ministry was currently working with the World Bank on projects aimed at encouraging children back to school, particularly in the area of increased enrollment of the girl-child.
“While commending the World Bank on its commitment to the development of the nation’s educational sector, Mr Adamu expressed government’s readiness for better interventions that will tackle obstacles to the eradication of the out-of-school children phenomenon,” he said.
Mr Chawdry, who pledged the readiness of his organisation to assist in financing more developmental projects in Nigeria, said the World Bank would “no longer dictate developmental projects but leave the decision to governments” as they were “in the best position to ascertain the needs of their citizens”.
He declared the interest of the World Bank in long-lasting projects but stressed that education remained a sure way of eliminating poverty.
