The National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education plans to establish state offices across the 36 states of the federation to decentralize its operations in 2025.
This is as the Federal Government has proposed a budget of N50,895,922,098 to support out-of-school children in the 2025 Appropriation Bill.
The Ministry of Education budgeted N50bn for programmes targeting out-of-school children.
Additionally, the Almajiri commission plans to conduct a mop-up exercise for Almajiri and out-of-school children in selected states.
A total of N100m has been allocated to each of these projects, which are categorized as new initiatives in the 2025 Appropriation Bill under the commission.
According to UNICEF, 18.3 million children are out of school in Nigeria, making the country the global leader in out-of-school children.
Northern states account for 60% of this total, underscoring the region’s disproportionate contribution to the crisis.
The Arabic Language Village in Borno, a Federal Government project, allocated N10,160,756 for Almajiri children.
The supervision of Non-Formal Education out-of-school centres nationwide and the economic empowerment of graduands with starter packs under the Federal Ministry of Education will cost N70m.
Additionally, the review of existing out-of-school youth trade and entrepreneurship modules by the National Education Research & Development Council is set to cost N33,397,412.
These allocations demonstrate the efforts by various agencies to support Almajiri and out-of-school children, even as a fully-fledged commission exists for this purpose.
Under the headquarters of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education, additional projects have been earmarked for implementation.
The procurement of computers and office equipment for commission operations is expected to cost N50m, while the update, renewal, and maintenance of the commission’s website and official emails are budgeted at N45,761,342.
Digitisation of work processes will cost N50m, and advocacy and sensitisation campaigns are estimated at N50m.
The purchase of vehicles for principal officers is budgeted at N40m, while N50m has been allocated for the procurement of teaching and learning materials nationwide.
Furthermore, N100m will be used for the installation of solar power solutions in Tsangaya schools.
Skill acquisition programmes for Almajiri learners and Arabic language programs will cost N135m, while the renovation and equipping of schools and learning centres are estimated at N150m. Finally, N50m has been devoted to skills acquisition programmes specifically for Almajiri and out-of-school children.
Credit: THE PUNCH
