The National Commission for Nomadic Education, NCNE, has sought a partnership with the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board, ENSUBEB, to implement the Accelerated Basic Education Programme, ABEP, and bring out-of-school children and youths in nomadic communities back into the classroom.
The Executive Secretary of the commission, Prof. Haruna Bashir Usman, represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr. Rose Nwaji, made the call during a strategic visit to ENSUBEB.
The delegation presented findings from a study conducted across 10 Local Government Areas of Enugu State to identify the number and locations of school-age children and youths outside the formal education system.
The areas covered include Aninri, Awgu, Enugu East, Ezeagu, Igboetiti, Igboeze North, Isi-Uzo, Nsukka, Oji River and Udenu.
According to the commission’s findings, Isi-Uzo recorded the highest number of nomadic out-of-school children, with 372, followed by Aninri with 206, while other councils also recorded significant numbers requiring educational intervention.
Presenting the findings, Chidiebere Ugwu of the Audit Department said the research and subsequent enrolment exercise had helped the commission develop an educational approach suited to the peculiar circumstances of children in nomadic communities.
He explained that the programme would align with the conventional school curriculum while incorporating adaptations to make learning more accessible and relevant to children in nomadic settlements.
Ugwu said the partnership with ENSUBEB would focus on identifying out-of-school children, community mobilisation, enrolment, curriculum implementation, teacher support, monitoring and evaluation.
He stressed that the ultimate objective was to ensure that every school-age child and youth has access to basic education regardless of location, lifestyle or socio-economic circumstances.
Responding on behalf of the ENSUBEB Executive Chairman, Hon. Mrs. Uche Eze, Permanent Member II of the Board, welcomed the initiative and commended the NCNE for adopting a research-based approach to addressing the out-of-school children challenge.
Eze said reliable data was essential for effective educational planning and assured the commission of the board’s readiness to explore partnership opportunities for the successful implementation of ABEP.
She also highlighted the state government’s investment in basic education, particularly the construction of 267 Smart Green Schools across the state’s 260 political wards.
However, she stressed that infrastructure alone would not solve the problem of educational exclusion, noting the need to identify children who remain outside the school system and deliberately bring them into classrooms.
The engagement ended with the presentation of curriculum materials, textbooks and writing materials to ENSUBEB officials as part of efforts to support the educational intervention.
