NMEC to return 500,000 out-of-school children to school

The National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC), has commenced a two-day training for enumerators on automated data collection tools aimed at tackling challenges of out-of-school children.

Speaking at the training in Abuja on Tuesday, the Acting Executive Secretary of NMEC, Dr John Onimisi, said that the exercise was designed to return more than 500,000 learners in the first phase of the programme.
According to him, the enumerators are to capture data on youths aged 15 years and above who dropped out of school or never had the opportunity to continue their education.

He also noted that the emphasis of the programme was not only on literacy but also on vocational training.
“Our target is to ensure that these learners are enrolled into non-formal learning centres and are able to complete the programme successfully.

“Some may also transit to vocational programmes after completion,” he said.

Onimisi added that the initiative would cover all the 774 local government areas of the federation, noting that 376 enumerators from the 36 states and the FCT had been on-boarded, while 250 facilitators would drive the exercise in Abuja.

He said that monitoring would be done in real-time through a dashboard linked to the National Identity Management System (NIMC), to ensure proper tracking and follow-up of learners.

“This is the first time since the 2010 National Literacy Survey that NMEC will be conducting such a large-scale data exercise and the delay has largely been due to funding constraints,” he said.

The acting executive secretary disclosed that the programme would run in phases, with the first literacy cycle lasting between six to nine months, depending on the contact hours.

He commended the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) for supporting the intervention, stressing that it marked a renewed government’s commitment to addressing the country’s literacy gaps.

Also speaking, the Director of Programmes at NMEC, Mr Samuel Aziba, said that the training would enable enumerators to use digital devices for data collection.

Aziba added that pilot testing of the programme would begin in four locations within the FCT before the nationwide rollout.

NMEC hinted that Nigeria has more than 30 million non-literate adults as at the year 2021. (NAN)