Bauchi decries high number of out-of-school children

Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State has decried the large number of out of school children in the state, describing the situation as worrisome.
Abubakar made the remarks on Tuesday when a Non-Governmental Organisation, JACCO’S Charity International, led by its Founder/President, Jodie Frank, visited him at the Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.
He, however, said that his administration was passionate about redressing the plight of the affected children, especially the girl-child.
The governor explained that the government was working hard to ensure that school-aged children were fully enrolled in schools.
The United Nations Children’s Fund recently announced that out of 1.2 million school-age children in Bauchi State, 777,000 were out of school.
This prompted the state government to launch a state-wide school enrolment campaign in November, 2015.
Abubakar said that an NGO, floated by his wife, was also working hard to see more children enrolled in schools.
He said that government would leave no stone unturned to reversing the situation.
He thanked the NGO for choosing Bauchi as one of the beneficiaries of its proposed back-to-school programme.
Abubakar said that the state government would collaborate with the team for the success of the programme.
He, however, asked the organisation to formalise its request for assistance in this regard through a letter to his office.
Earlier, Frank told the governor that her organisation was committed to catering for less privileged children in local communities across the country.
She said that the NGO was planning an out-of-school programme in selected states including Bauchi.
According to her, the programme will be launched in April, 2017 and call for the governor’s assistance to make it a success.
She lauded the achievements of the governor’s administration, which included roads and borehole projects, especially in rural communities.