The Cross River State Commissioner for Education, Sen. Prof. Stephen A. Odey, has received officials of the National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) on a working visit to the Ministry of Education Headquarters in Calabar.
The visit was aimed at briefing the Commissioner on the Commission’s efforts to identify and enrol out-of-school children from nomadic communities across the state and seek collaboration with the Ministry in establishing and scaling up learning centres for the beneficiaries.
The team disclosed that its house-to-house mapping exercise identified out-of-school children from pastoralist, migrant fishing and migrant farming communities, while also identifying potential learning centres and commencing plans for pilot centres under the Accelerated Basic Education Programme.
Receiving the team, Senator Odey commended the initiative and expressed the State Government’s readiness to collaborate with the Commission in tackling the challenge of out-of-school children in the state.
He stressed the importance of reliable data for effective educational planning, noting that the initiative aligns with the State Government’s commitment to ensuring access to quality education for every child, irrespective of background or location.
The Commissioner urged the team to formally present its findings and recommendations to the State Government, assuring them of the Ministry’s support and partnership towards expanding the initiative across Cross River State.
Earlier, the Director of Quality Assurance, Mallam Bimbi Tahir, and members of the NCNE team thanked the Commissioner for the warm reception and his assurance of collaboration, expressing optimism that the partnership would further strengthen efforts to provide education opportunities for out-of-school children across the state.
Senator Odey reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to working with relevant agencies and stakeholders to promote inclusive and quality education for all children in Cross River State.
By Patricia Ogbeche
