By Ebele Orakpo

NIGERIA is said to have the highest number of out-of-school children in the world according to the United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF) which has been put at 10.5 million children. This number is threatening to increase if nothing is done urgently to arrest the insurgency in the North-East of the country and assist internally displaced school children in various camps across the region to continue their education despite the situation they have found themselves in.

To their credit, authorities at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Damare, Adamawa State where thousands of displaced persons are taking refuge, are doing their best to keep the children in school but lack of basic necessities like blackboards, desks, exercise books, textbooks and writing materials is threatening to put a stop to the good work.

While taking Vanguard round the improvised classrooms, Mallam Haruna Hamman Furo, Permanent Secretary, Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency, ADSEMA, said the camp authorities had to improvise classrooms and get volunteer teachers to teach the primary and secondary school children.

“We started with just over 20 children and within a short period, we were able to have a full primary wing and secondary wing. We introduced the school part to keep the children busy and help them continue their education while here. We are inviting professionals in the education sector to take over.

For now, we are using teachers among the internally displaced persons as volunteer teachers. We also have volunteer lecturers from the American University of Nigeria (AUN) and other higher institutions in the state who come in to render their services. That was how we started.”

Lack of teaching/learning materials:
Also speaking with Vanguard, the acting principal of the school, Mr. Philip Sati Jona said it has not   been easy doing the job due to the children’s backgrounds and the kind of condition they have found themselves in.  He said most of the children were affected psychologically due to all they had passed through and need psychologists to help out in the school.

“We don’t have sufficient materials for learning; we improvised blackboards just to make sure that the children are learning in spite of everything. That is why we are trying to give them the best we can. No exercise books, the sitting arrangement is nothing to write home about (actually, the children were sitting on mats); the learning atmosphere is not conducive,” said Jona.

Appeal: “I am calling on the general public and government to come to the aid of these children, give them the needed help so that they will have the right education just like any other Nigerian child.”

The orphans: The ADSEMA boss said they had taken the orphans to an orphanage where they were enrolled in school. The challenge once again is to provide them the basic necessities like uniforms, writing materials etc.

“These are children who lost their parents to the insurgents. So we liaised with the Ministry of Women Affairs, to take custody of them but they are under the IDP Initiative. They will be educated within the orphanage home. We will supply their food and medication from here if need be. Their camp leaders will liaise with the orphanage so they could go there at intervals to visit the children and give them some sense of belonging.”

The children were eager to continue their education knowing that it is their only chance to get out of poverty and become whatever they want to become in future. The entire society must rise up to help them achieve their dream otherwise, the cycle of poverty and violence will continue.

Vanguard Learning, on behalf of these children, is appealing to public-spirited individuals and government at all levels to heed the cries of these innocent children.