Education: FCT appeals for private sector intervention, as foundation awards scholarships

From Idu Jude, Abuja

**The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has again called on the private sector to intervene in education to reduce the number of out-of-school children. **

This call was made recently during a scholarship award organized by a humanitarian organization named Restore Hearts Foundation (RHF) in Kuje and Gwagwalada Area Councils, Abuja.

UNICEF, it could be recalled, has roughly estimated about 10.5 million children out of school in the Northern and Southern parts of the country.

Dr.Mohammed Sani Ladan, Director of FCT Secondary Education Board (SEB), who was represented by Olaniyan Olubisi Olayinka, during the award ceremony, emphasized broader
participation in tackling the number of children
outside the classroom.

“We cannot keep waiting for the government to fix
everything. Private organisations and individuals can also come in through scholarships and other
interventions,” she said.

She noted that the challenge extends well beyond
funding, pointing to classrooms without adequate
furniture and schools in poor physical condition, as
well as religious beliefs, traditional practices and
parental attitudes that keep some children away from school

“We need more partnerships, and we also need to
orient parents,” she said.

The Chief Operating Officer of the Foundation, Mr Jerry Mataimaki, during stated presentations that the intervention was deliberately built to cover more than a single term.

“A child does not usually leave school at once. It
begins with one unpaid fee, and that is why the
Scholars Inclusion Fund(SIF) covers two full academic sessions and the examination fees as well, because paying for a single term most times only provides temporary solutions,” he said.

Mataimaki added that the scale of the problem was
beyond what the government could carry on its own.
“Government cannot carry this alone, as it was never meant to, as the sector and NGOs have a part to play. RHF is here to make sure that for these eighty students, money is simply not the thing that decides whether they stay in school or not,” he said.
Selected schools in Kuje and Gwagwalada area councils of FCT benefited from the pilot stage of the scholarships inclusion funding (SIF) programme that was carried out recently.

The scholarship programme, according to the humanitarian organization, is to close the gap of 10 million out-of-school children in line with a UNICEF report in Northern and parts of the Consequently, eighty students in three selected public secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) benefitedwindfall wind fall and continue their studies till the next two academic
sessions.

The Scholars Inclusion Fund (SIF), which was launched across the three schools in September, is to support students who, according to the Foundation, were at risk of dropping out not because of academic ability but because their families are struggling to keep them in school due to financial constraints.

According to the Chief Operating Officer of The Restored Heart Foundation,(RHF) Mr Jerry Mataimaki, the intervention which was intentionally built to cover more than a single term, launched its pilot stage at Junior Secondary School (JSS) Gaube, Kuje, on the 11th of September, during which about 30 students were in full-time full time studythatfter there, we moved on to Government Day Secondary School (GDSS), Kuje on the 17th of September, where 100 desks and chairs were donated alongside the scholarships proceeded to Government Secondary School (GSS) Hajj Camp, Gwagwalada, on the 24th of September.

Each scholarship covers school fees for two full
academic sessions, as well as registration for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE)
The Chief Operating Officer Foundation, Mr Jerry Mataimaki, said the intervention was deliberately built to cover more than a single term.

“A child does not usually leave school at once. It
begins with one unpaid fee, and that is why the
Scholars Inclusion Fund(SIF) covers two full academic sessions and the examination fees as well, because paying for a single term most times only provides temporary solutions,” he said.

Mataimaki added that the scale of the problem was
beyond what the government could carry on its own.
“Government cannot carry this alone, as it was never meant to, as the sectors and NGOs have a part to play. RHF is here to make sure that for these eighty students, money is simply not the thing that decides whether they stay in school or not,” he said.
Beneficiaries of the Scholars Inclusion Fund were carefully selected through the Foundation’s criteria and in consultation with each school’s management.

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