Date: 2019-08-20

Brain Builders International (BBI), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) committed to youth development, has lamented the high rate of illiteracy and out-of-school children in Kwara state.

This was made known in an event held in Ilorin to commemorate the 2019 International Youth Day.

This year's theme; "Transforming Education and Contemporary Skills Sustainably: Who has the Biggest Role to Play?" featured deliberations and debates led by 10 discussants on how to tackle the nation's biggest challenges to quality education and contemporary skill-learning.

The BBI Coordinator, Olasupo Abideen Opeyemi, in his welcome address, noted that it's not unlikely that the average Nigerian feels security is the country's greatest challenge, but it is also true that the state of Nigeria's education would bring any conscious mind to tears.

"The challenges our country has continued to face are not unconnected to the underlying effects that stream from the crumbling state of our education sector." he said.

He further said that the United Nations Children Education Fund's (UNICEF) declaration that about 10.5 million Nigerian children are out of school even though primary education is officially free and compulsory should be enough reason to ponder.

"One can't but be perplexed by the attitude of our leaders towards the advancement of education in Nigeria

"The Federal Government apportioned a paltry sum of N3.9 trillion out of N55.19 trillion approved for budgets in 10 years, the equivalent of 7.7 per cent."

Olasupo said this year's International Youth Day was strategically planned to bring in concerned officials and stakeholders in the education sector as well as youth to find lasting solutions to the unending challenges in the sector.

The NGO expressed assurance to follow-up on the deliberations and resolutions reached at the event by submitting proposals to the appropriate quarters for implementation.

In her speech, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Hajia Garba, appreciated the efforts of BBI in putting in place the event. She said other civil society organisations have a lot to learn from the NGO.

She also pointed out that societies that are thriving and competing today have so many things in common, one of which is their relentless drive to improving their education, noting that education in this regard is all-encompassing.