A non-governmental organisation, One House Development Initiative (OHI), has revealed that Osun has approximately 150,000 out-of-school children, with the state’s poor ranking in national examinations adding to the concern.
The NGO’s Team Lead, Tubosun Olabomi, made this known in a communique issued after the organisation’s Nation Building Conference, held in Osogbo.
Olabomi expressed worry over the state’s education sector, stating that Osun contributes significantly to Nigeria’s out-of-school children population.
The NGO also highlighted the challenges faced by persons with special needs, citing the State Senior Secondary School’s lack of perimeter fencing, teaching and training equipment, and vocational materials.
He, however, called on the government to increase the budgetary allocation to the education and health of Persons with Special Needs in the state.
The state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke Should ensure that, education and health of Special needs students and those of persons with disabilities are given top priority saying, other schools within the state also need urgent attention.
“There are challenges in our society that are fast becoming menaces. Education, Health and Inclusion carry a bulk of them.”
Speaking on education in Osun State, OHI said, “Osun state with a population of about 4.7 million contributes 150,000 to that disastrous out-of-school number.
Lagos with a population estimate of 21 million has 160,000 – barely 10,000 more than ours while Ekiti has just 40,000 with a population of over 2.2 million.
If that was multiplied to match our population in Osun, it would be at about 80,000 which would still be a whopping 70,000 out-of-school children gap.
Speaking on health, the Initiative said the current reality in terms of maternal mortality is debilitating.
“Neonatal mortality rate target of the SDG 3 according to its second part is to achieve at least as low as 12 in 1,000.
Only 6 states have achieved that with the FCT and Osun state stands at number 7 out of 36. Ebonyi stands at number 1 with just 1 out of 1,000 and that’s according to statisense.
According to CIA world Factbook on the countries with the worst infant mortality rates in the world for 2023, Nigeria stands at position 15 at 55.2 per thousand – Osun state contributes to that data. The best infant mortality rates are found in Monaco, Iceland and Japan.
Our People with Disabilities (PWDs) and Special Needs persons are getting marginalised despite being part of our society and they, as a matter of responsibility must be included in everything.
“One House Development Initiative hereby calls on the Government, every well-meaning individual and organization to come around and let us chart our way forward inclusively as a pathway to National Development on the 1st of October, 2024.”
The event was attended by stakeholders in education, health and Inclusion with development experts and the leadership of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities and Albinism Association of Nigeria as well as the School of Special needs.
Also, Hon. Bankole Omisore, the SA to the Governor on SDGs and Multilateral Relations said that his office is ready to partner with One House Development Initiative to design programmes that promote inclusive quality education, good health and human capital development.
Represented by his desk officer, Mr. Gbenga Omoetan, Omisore commended One House Development Initiative on their sacrificial and selfless service to mankind.
