Out-Of-School Children: Gombe Gov’t Flags Off Children Enrolment In Schools

By Najib Sani, Gombe

The flag off was conducted at Amada village of Akko local government area of the state under the 2025/2026 enrolment drive campaign launched by the state government through the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in partnership with Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Babaji Babadidi, warned parents that failure to enrol their children in schools could result in a two-month jail term or substantial fines.

He said the enrolment drive campaign was aimed at bringing at least 400,000 children into schools across the state adding that the initiative was in view of the number of out of schools children in the state.

According to him, the programme would not be successful without patents’ cooperation threatening that those who refuse to comply with the policy would be punished in line with section 19 of the SUBEB Amendment Law 2021 which mandates parents to ensure their children complete primary and secondary education.

He said the government launched the new initiative to enroll out-of-school children adding that it was also ready to execute the SUBEB law against offending parents.

“The programme tagged “Operation Enrol All Children in Schools,” is a collaborative effort with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and UNICEF to ensure we address out of school children problem in the state”, he said.

Gombe State Commissioner for Education, Aishatu Maigari, expressed concern over the alarming number of out-of-school children in the state, estimated at over 700,000 out of the 4 million state’s population.

She emphasised that the government’s substantial investment in education would be wasted if parents fail to take advantage of the free education programme.

The Head of UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office, Nuzhat Rafique, stressed the critical role of partnership between the state government and UNICEF in ensuring child education.

The Emir of Gona in Akko local government, Umar Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, pledged the emirate’s support for the programme, while the Education Secretary of the area, Mannuwa Hamji, linked illiteracy to juvenile delinquency and thuggery among adolescents.

During the programme, some children were registered into nursery and primary schools by the government, marking the beginning of a concerted effort to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Gombe State.