By Ngozi Nwankwo
Education Minister, Prof.Tahir Mamman and the Minister of State for Education Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu, have said that the most potent way of tackling out of school children phenomenal is to give adequate attention to adult education.
The Minister’s emphasised that educated adults are more prone to educating their children.
Stressing the need to tackle Adult illiteracy, the Ministers said that adult illiterates constitute the fountain from which out of school children keep flowing.
Speaking at a briefing session with the leadership of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non Formal Education, Education Minister, Prof.Tahir Mamman, said ,one of the fundamental ways to deal with the ever increasing number of out of school children is to educate the parents, adding that an educated parent is more likely to educate his/her child.
Mamman identified funding, advocacy and commitment as key elements necessary in tackling the menace of adult illiteracy.
He directed the leadership of the National Commission for Mass Literacy to furnish his office with the current number of adult illiterates in the Country, their location and strategies for taking them off that shelve.
Aligning with the Minister on the same page, Minister of State for Education, Hon.Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu emphasised that adequate funding is critical in raising the Literacy level of the country.
Sununu wondered why the National Commission for Mass Literacy has been removed from the funding envelope of the Annual National Budget, promising that he will take up the matter with his colleagues at the National Assembly.
The Minister of State explained that the Mass Literacy Commission is not a revenue yielding Agency, but the provider of a critical National Service.
Briefing the two Ministers earlier, the Director General of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non Formal Education, Prof Simon Akpama told the Ministers that investment in the Adult Education subsector has the potential of not only improving the overall Literacy level of the country but will also drastically reduce the number of out of school children in Nigeria.