Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire
Featured

COVID-19: Invest in inclusive education for Nigerian children, Presidential Aide urges stakeholders

292

 

 

 

Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SSAP-SDGs), says it is imperative for stakeholders in the education sector to increase their level of investment and funding of the sector for an inclusive education.

Orelope-Adefulire also said following the COVID-19 pandemic there was  an urgent need to address the disparity in access to education by Nigerian school-age children.

“The forced closure of schools across the country has made it necessary for all stakeholders to work towards an inclusive and equitable education for all children regardless of their socio-economic background,’’ she said in a statement commemorating Children’s Day obtained by Persecondnews.

The presidential adviser lauded President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for sustaining the national school feeding programme in a bid to give succour to the underprivileged pupils, who may have been worse hit by the COVID-19 lockdown.

Orelope-Adefulire also commended the Federal Ministry of Education for launching subscription-free portal to enable students in primary and secondary levels to access educational materials while at home as well as for its collaboration with telecoms service providers to grant the students free access to the portals on their mobile phones.

She noted that while some children from privileged background have been able to continue their education from home after the closure of their schools, the situation was different for pupils from poor homes.

“This disparity must be addressed not just because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but as part of measures to reduce the ever increasing disparity in the quality of education available to children in the country.

“While some Federal and State Governments are putting in place structures to ensure that children are able to learn from home, more still needs to be done to make this a reality for many of our children in the rural areas,” the former Lagos State Deputy Governor said.

She, however,  expressed fears that many of the school children, especially the girls might not return when schools reopen, a situation she noted would be a great setback to efforts to achieve SDGs in Nigeria.

“The girl-child which is already disadvantaged in terms of access to education may be affected more. We challenge all stakeholders, especially at the community levels to take up the advocacy of ensuring that COVID-19 will not result in exit of pupils from the educational system, ‘’ Orelope-Adefulire said.

Leave a comment

Related Articles

#EndBadGovernance protests: AGF to Police: Transfer casefiles of 72 defendants to my office

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince...

Morocco 2025: Ekong, Aina, Simon, Ndidi, 19 others to battle Benin Republic, Rwanda

Captain William Ekong, wingback Olaoluwa Aina, and forwards Victor Osimhen and Taiwo...

Unleash the Creativity Within! [PRT 2]

So here I am with more ideas of DIY crafts for you...

Career Advancement Tips for Men

The truth that most career people avoid accepting is that advancing in...

Nigeria-British Chamber of Commerce inagurates Atelly as 18th President, unveils programmes

Ray Atelly has been sworn in as the 18th President of the...

Kano guber poll ‘clerical error’: An Appeal Court judgment in a mire of controversy

The past few months have been characterized with legal tussles over the...

Why I did not walk out of Super Falcons before FIFA female World Cup – Waldrum

In a recent podcast interview with ‘On The Whistle’ podcast. Randy Waldrum,...

Niger’s ousted president is being denied food and electricity, says European Union

The European Union Friday said it had “deep concern” about the treatment...

Breaking: Ex-Kaduna Gov. El rufai might reject ministerial appointment 

The immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El rufai is...

President Tinubu appoints Ajuri Ngelale as special adviser media & publicity

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has approved the appointment of Chief Ajuri...

Are ‘balloons’ the new drug epidemic in Nigeria?

They may look like the normal balloons you see at children’s birthday...

From Fame to Penury: The Despicable Tales of Nigerian Veteran Thespians

The entertainment industry, particularly the movie circle, has been in the eye...

Content creation is the new oil, says Broda Shaggi in an exclusive interview with PSN

There are not many in the class of Samuel Animashaun Perry otherwise...

Hubby’s watery sperm, erectile dysfunction crash two-month-old marriage

A husband’s watery sperm has forced his wife to urge the court...

Max Air Acquires 16 Year Old Boeing 777-200

Kano based Max Air Limited has taken delivery of its first Boeing...

From waste collection to classroom: Story of Adamu’s pursuit of education

Coming from the background of a family of seven children and parents...

Fuel Subsidy: Need for Labour to tread softly, Softly 

The Labour Movement in Nigeria is up in arms against the Federal...

Between the dialectics and the benefits of petroleum subsidy removal

By Paul Njowusi For many years, successive administrations in Nigeria had embraced...