Stakeholders at Youth Summit in Garaku, Kokona local government area of Nasarawa State have decried the rising rate of out-of-school children in the north and called for urgent measures to address the trend.
The summit, which was part of the event to mark the annual Nzeh Mada Cultural Festival was organized to suggest ways of engaging the unemployed youths in worthwhile ventures to enhance economic empowerment and checking the out-of-school syndrome.
LEADERSHIP reports that the annual school census of 2020/2021 had put the number of out-of-school children in Nasarawa State at 430,787.
The gender analysis of the figure indicated that 179,045 were male while the female had 251,742.
Stakeholders at the Kokona summit including the former secretary of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Dr Anthony Sani were unanimous that chronic absenteeism and dropping out are common characteristics in rural schools.
They opined that a retention programme should be initiated and pursued vigorously alongside enrollment to ensure that pupils and students graduate and move to another tier of education.
The stakeholders particularly suggested the initiation of sustainable entrepreneurship and skill acquisition programmes that will empower those who are long out of school in order to take them off the streets.
The ex ACF scribe particularly called on the political class to be united and come up with a proactive approach toward tackling the rising cases of child labour, early marriage, and poverty, especially in the northern part of the country.