Number of school drop-outs roaming Gombe streets over 450, 000, says SUBEB Chairman

No fewer than 450,000 children who have dropped out of school roam the streets of Gombe, Acting Chairman of Gombe State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mrs Zulaihatu Madugu, said on Thursday,

Fielding questions from newsmen on the sidelines of a two-day workshop organized for 100 under-graduates by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and SUBEB, Madugu said the figure was the outcome of a recent survey conducted by her board.

Madugu decried the high number of children roaming the streets in Nigeria, saying the situation was worrisome.

According to her, if the trend continues without being tackled, one day the country will end up with vast number of unenlightened and unproductive citizens.

The Acting Chairman attributed the inability of most students to complete their education, to early marriage and poverty, among other reasons.

Madugu therefore appealed to parents and guardians, not to allow marriage be a hindrance to the attainment of education, which according to her, was the foundation for any meaningful development

Speaking on the workshop, she said the undergraduates being trained would help in boosting enrollment of children in schools.

“We want to build the capacity of the 100 undergraduate who are from Gombe state, to go into their various communities as vanguards and get our children back to school.

“The trainees will collaborate with community and religious leaders to achieve the desired goal,” she explained.

Madugu further explained that the training was part of activities organized to commemorate the Day of the African Child.