Abia Governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti, has said that no fewer than 90,000 children in Abia are out of school, describing the situation as worrisome.
This is as the proprietor of Gregory University Uturu and governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Professor Greg Ibe, has called for increased funding for education.
Otti who disclosed this in his goodwill message for this year’s Children’s Day celebration, regretted that the state had not invested enough in her children.
Reflecting on the theme for the celebration, the Governor-elect said:” It is worthy of note to state that the theme for this year’s Children’s Day celebration is ‘Investing in our future means investing in our children’.
“As insightful and instructional as this statement is, can we, in all honesty, in Nigeria, indeed Abia State, really say we have invested in our future, that is, our children? The answer is simply, no!
“The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) puts the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria at over 20 million. Out of this number Abia State has no fewer than 90,000 children not attending schools.”
Otti promised to provide an enabling environment to support education in the state.
He also promised to clear salary arrears of Abia workers including teachers, and to build infrastructure to enhance learning.
“The Labour Party (LP) government in Abia State that I will lead has already made a firm promise to create the enabling environment and atmosphere for the socio-economic development, growth and welfare of our citizens.
“This will entail the building of new infrastructure and revamping of existing ones; creating wealth and jobs for our agile army of youths, and opportunities for businesses to thrive and prosper; defraying outstanding wages and pensions and regular payments of same going forward.
“All these and much more we will do all in the effort to secure a future for our children, who, as we often say, are leaders of tomorrow.”
Otti urged children in the state to be of good cheer “and at your best behaviour as we work to build a future for all and particularly, you, our children.”
Prof Ibe in his goodwill message, contended that “investing in education remains the best way to secure the future of Nigeria.”
The Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies, tasked incoming administrations at state and federal levels to prioritize education by undertaking strategic reform of the sector to ensure subject curricular review in line with the current skills demand in the global labour market.
” In view of the fact that this year’s Children’s Day celebration falls within the period of transition of governments at state and federal levels, I want to request the incoming administrations to embark on reform of the education sector in order to guarantee strategic review of subject curricular that will enable our children lay the necessary foundation for the acquisition of skills and competencies that will make them relevant in the global labour market.
” As a departure from the past, there should be increased budgetary allocation to the education sector to ensure the provision of adequate funding for the needed comprehensive reform policy, covering such areas as a revival of dilapidated infrastructure, procurement of ICT equipment, curriculum review and recruitment of more personnel”.
He enjoined leaders to commit afresh to the task of ensuring the provision of technology-backed entrepreneurial education for all children.
While wishing the children a great outing on their day, he reminded them that as leaders of tomorrow, they should begin early to equip themselves with competitive skills that will distinguish them in future, and promised to keep championing the provision of world-class infrastructure for achieving their aspirations, both as a private corporate citizen and political thought leader, leveraging Gregory University Uturu and Innov8 Hub Centre Abuja.