𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗼𝗳-𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀

By Joshua Olomu

Stakeholders,including clerics, parents and educationists, have called for concerted action to address Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that they made the call at the Second Year Anniversary Celebration and Graduation of the Mountain Top Schools on Thursday in Abuja.

The event was held at the Gwarimpa premises of the school.

According to the stakeholders, the increasing rate of out-of-school children is a potential threat to national development and security.

The said sustainable progress in the fight against the menace was only possible through increased investment in education by governments at all levels, individuals and faith-based institutions.

Mrs Rosemary Onoja, Chairperson of the occasion, said there was a need for government institutions, development agencies, private sector organisations, civil society groups and parents to work together in tackling the problem.

According to her, the government must take the driver’s seat to fix Nigerian education in order to effectively check the out-of-school children challenge.

She said in providing basic education, the government was supposed to take the lead by ensuring universal access, while private schools fill the gaps.

“The government is not doing enough. I believe that if not for the private sector and individuals, by now, everything would have been in chaos.

“I must say that I give kudos to the private schools.They are doing very well.

“But moving forward, we must all do our part ; the government should provide infrastructure and teachers should be ready to teach,” she said.

Onoja, who spoke on “Child Education and National Development”, lamented that Nigeria still has the highest number of out-of-school children in the world in spite of its huge natural and human resources.

While commending the management and staff of Mountain Top Schools, she called for support for mission schools, describing them as citadels for raising godly and morally upright leaders of tomorrow.

Also speaking, Pastor Emmanuel Ayantuga, Regional Overseer, MFM North Central Region 47 and host of the event, said the school is a model Christian academy that provides basic education, including crèche, nursery, primary and secondary.

According to him, the school is committed to raising godly children both in learning and in character.

“You see, children are like an empty plate, and an empty notebook; If you don’t write what is right in it, somebody else will write another thing.

“I have the passion to affect lives positively and to bring the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to people right from their tender age, and also give them quality education.

“Apart from being a pastor, I have a background in education, and that is what actually made me say I need to keep to this vision,” he said.

Ayantuga, who appreciated the leadership and members of the church, said the event was a celebration of vision, growth and the grace of God in the past two years.

“We extend our heartfelt thanks to our Father in the Lord, Prof. Daniel Olukoya, and our Mother in the Lord, Dr (Mrs.) Folashade Olukoya, whose divine inspiration and unwavering vision gave birth to the Mountain Top Schools.

“Their passion for building godly foundations in the lives of young people continues to inspire us,” he said

The cleric said as part of efforts to expand its reach to young people, plans were underway to commence the Junior Secondary arm of the school.

“That is one of the things we want to achieve, and we are trusting God to complete the permanent structure which is a two-story building,” he said.

Mrs Taiwo Elegbede, Head Teacher of the School, said as a faith-based school, Mountain Top was rooted in sound academics and strong Christian values.

According to her, the school was committed to raising godly and academically sound children at a highly subsidised cost.

“We have pupils that are not paying at all and we have pupils that are paying on discount.

“I am proud of the strides we’ve made, and today we are celebrating our second year anniversary and our graduation party,” she said,

Some of the graduating students who spoke with NAN expressed delight for the feat.

The event featured Choreography, news casting, dance and other presentations by the pupils, and then awards to outstanding and graduating ones.(NAN)

Edited by Joseph Edeh