Every child regardless of their circumstances has the right to quality education. As much as primary education is free and should be compulsory in Nigeria, millions of children in that age range are out of school.
This is alarming and should not be so. It needs immediate action. To tackle the situation, we need to first know the causes.
Some of the underlying causes are poverty, gender factor, cultural practices and norms, and insurgency.
Many people cannot afford basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing. How will they be able to afford school bags, books, and other stationeries?
This kind of people will be deprived of education because they have to survive first. Gender, like poverty, plays a key role in the marginalization of education. Some parts of the country, there is discriminate against female education.
We are aware that education is important to the development of the nation. Education has a direct positive impact on the person that is being educated which in turn leads to a positive impact on the community and the nation at large.
We need to advocate for quality education for children and youths.
The children are said to be the future leaders; the next generation. The children today are vibrant and full of energy. They are talented and have so much to offer.
But when these children are not exposed to quality education, how will their dreams be achieved? How will they build on the potentials they have? How will they reach their full potentials?
The world is changing every day in terms of emerging technology and global development. There is high demand for more evolved skills and talents and more needs to be met.
The next generation needs to get access to quality education to be able to deliver what the world needs.
How does education benefit the next generation?
Education brings an end to unemployment. With as little as primary education, there will be a reduction in the rate of unemployment. When youth are gainfully employed, they will be able to put in their quota in the development of the nation.
This will lead to the improvement of the economy of the nation too.
With education, there will be means to alleviate poverty in the community. The more people get educated, the more they can rise above the poverty level.
Children from poor families that have the opportunity of getting quality education will want to give back to society when they are in the position to do so after they have lifted their own immediate family from the poor status.
Society will have a reduced crime rate with exposure to quality education. With the high rate of out-of-school children, the crime rate of society is high. A child that is in school will not have time to get into avoidable trouble or mix with the wrong set of people.
A quote says, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”
Education will propel youths in the right direction. They will know the right thing to do at any time. There is a quote that says, “People without education are like weapons without bullets.”
This shows the essentiality of education in our daily lives. Education plays a key role in realizing one’s potential and shows ways that these potentials can be fully utilized. Education is like a change bringer.
A child that is educated will have direction with his career. For potentials to be fully utilized, the direction is needed. An educated youth can make a good career choice, make plans on how to achieve his or her aim, and follow-through that path.
So, education serves as a pathfinder for youths. Future leaders have to make good choices for themselves from a young age.
The impact of education is a cycle of give-and-take. Children get educated, grow up to lead and teach the younger generations.
This becomes a cycle that will help national development. If a generation is properly educated, there is assurance that the next generation will get quality education and will pass the baton to the coming ones.
With the provision of quality education to each community, the next generation can become more productive, scientifically, and technologically oriented, open-minded, law-abiding, and good citizens of the society.
The gender gap will be erased, and more children will be get educated. Early marriage and child abuse will also be eradicated.
In every community, every child should get educated. Every community school should be properly built to provide a conducive environment that is needed for assimilation.
This will encourage children to get educated. For the growth of the community and the peace of the society, the children, the next generation must be provided with quality education.
What are the next steps to take?
There is a need to bridge the gender gap that hinders children from getting educated. In education, gender inequality and unavailability of gender-sensitive educational infrastructures has led to a high number of female dropouts, and these have done more harm to national development.
There is a need to organize training programs and materials for the teachers to broaden their knowledge so that they can provide quality education to the next generation.
Community schools should be properly built with good educational infrastructures to enhance the learning process.
Children should be provided with educational materials like textbooks, notebooks, and other stationery.
They should also be awarded scholarships to motivate them to do better and to propel them further in their educational pursuit.
At the Emmanuel Osemota Foundation, we provide school children in rural communities with scholarships, educational materials, and grants for teachers as a sure way of getting school children the quality education they deserve.
We focused on ensuring that the next generation has access to education regardless of their social status, financial status, and their circumstances.
We organize after-school classes and training programs to broaden the mind of community children.
Because we understand and know that education is a right of every child and should be invested in. This is a fight, and we will win.
Support us today as we continue Educating the Next Generation: One Community School at A Time.
We Thank You for Your Donation!
Written by: Emmanuel J. Osemota
