Kaduna SUBEB targets enrolment of 145, 000 out-of-school children

The Kaduna state Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has commenced a massive campaign to enrol 145, 000 out-of-school children for the 2019/2020 academic year.

The board’s acting Director, Social Mobilisation, Malam Ibrahim Aminu, who revealed this in Kaduna on Wednesday, stated that the campaign targets all categories of out-of-school children.

Aminu said that the board has earlier mobilised 2, 000 education stakeholders as influencers, who would sensitise and mobilise parents to send their children to school.

He added that the campaign, under the World Bank assisted Better Education Service Delivery for All aims to enrol 727, 764 out-of-school children in the state in the next five years.

“We have trained the 2, 000 enrolment influencers and they have begun community-based house-to-house sensitisation campaign on Monday with huge success so far recorded.

“If every school community will enrol at least 35 out-of-school children in the 4, 260 primary schools in the state, we will achieve the 145, 000 target. Already, we are recording more than 100 pupils enrolment in most schools,” Aminu said.

The exercise witnessed massive turn-out for the enrolment campaign at the Sultan Bello Primary School, Kaduna, as anxious parents thronged the venue to enrol their children in school.

A seven-year- old, Dauda Nuhu was visibly elated after being enrolled into primary one, saying “I am so happy that I have been enrolled in school today; I am looking forward to learning with my friends in school.”

Another pupil, Yusuf Suleiman, said that he was in primary five when he dropped out of school after his father had an accident and fractured his leg.

“Three of my brothers and I dropped out of school following the accident and have been staying at home for the past one year, until a group of people came and talked to my father.

“They convinced him to take us back to school and I am so happy that we are all back in school,” Suleiman said.

Team Leader of the enrolment mobilizers in Kaduna North Local Government Area, Mrs. Theresa Wakili, confirmed that so far, they have influenced the enrolment of more than 778 pupils in two days.

“We have so far mobilised and sensitised parents in communities around 20 primary schools and recorded over 778 enrolments in just two days,” Wakili said.

To improve learning outcomes of pupils in primary one, the board has equally, began the training of 6, 828 primary one teachers on effective teaching.