Renewing its commitment to ensure that education is accessible to every child irrespective of socio-economic status or environment, the Lagos State government will on Tuesday commence a survey programme, targeted at out-of-school children.
The goal is to upscale efforts in bringing the sustained obligation into action, and guarantee a better and secured future for the children.
During a One-Day Training for Coordinators, Supervisors and Field Officers on the Out-of-School Children survey at the weekend, the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Ibrahim Obajomo enjoined all on the essential of the data that would be generated in the exercise and how beneficial it would be in returning children back to the classroom all over the Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state.
He encouraged all the survey officers as he explained how rigorous the exercise would be and the need for data accuracy to reflect the key challenges.
He said: “Lack of finance and other socio-cultural factors are some of the reasons our children are out of school. Hence, the need for this survey so we can effectively plan and activate programmes that will take our children back to school.
“We do not want them becoming a problem to themselves and the society at large. Thus, as you all go out there and conduct this survey, it will in the long run help to tell us about each constituency, ward and the challenges they face.
“Please do your due diligence. When you talk about data, every piece of it is essential, every detail gathered is instrumental to planning. We have seen the challenges and there is light at the end of the tunnel. We want to put our children back to school and the data will let us know the numbers and this will better help policy formulation geared towards education in the state”.
The Out-of-School Children Survey will be carried out in all LGAs and LCDAs of the state, and will focus on Households, Streets, Market Places, Car Parks, Rehabilitation Homes, Orphanages and other Institutions.
