The National Association of Seadogs (NAS), Sahara Deck Abuja City Centre, has described the increasing number of out-of-school children in Nigeria as one of the effects of the country’s poor funding of education.
According to the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Nigeria has about 18.5 million out-of-school children, 60% of whom are girls.
NAS described having such a number of children out of school is alarming.
Mr Olamide Oni, the association’s head, made the remarks on Thursday in Abuja at a news conference to commemorate the 2022 International Literacy Day, with the theme: “Transforming Literacy learning Spaces.’’
He said “The government also needs to invest in education, what goes to our education every year is a paltry sum compared to what we project for the entire running of the country in a year.
“Right now in Nigeria, the only compulsory education is primary school, but the law is not really being enforced, government must enforce and ensure that every child is in school.
“There is need to put some measures in place to make sure that we do not have street hawkers , kids who are meant to be in school are out selling wares for their parents.
He called on the government at all levels to enforce the compulsory education policy, to tackle the problem of out-of-school children.
The Pyrates Confraternity was formed by Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, and six others at the University College, Ibadan in 1952 and registered as the National Association of Seadogs, a charity organisation, under the Land (Perpetual Succession) Act Cap 98 in 1980.