The governor of Nigeria, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced a $25 million education effort to boost learning outcomes statewide and stated his intention to sign an executive order prohibiting school-aged children from playing outside during school hours.
While launching LEAF—the Lagos Education Access Fund—and LASUBEB—the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board—on Friday, the governor made this announcement.
“I will be signing an executive order to support this and make sure we aren’t just talking the talk,” Sanwo-Olu declared.
“Outside of school hours, no child should be seen under any circumstances, especially between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.”
The governor added that the LEAF program marks a shift in emphasis from boosting student enrolment to valuing quantifiable academic gain.
He believes that getting kids enrolled in school is just the first step; better reading, numeracy, and retention rates are necessary for a successful education.
Sanwo-Olu made the announcement that over two hundred thousand children in Lagos State will receive $25 million in results-based funding from the Education Outcomes Fund and other development partners.
He elaborated by saying that the program’s primary goal is to get over 50,000 kids (ranging in age from six to fourteen) who aren’t in school enrolled in it by using strategies that specifically target communities and work to remove obstacles to learning.
With the goal of making sure that consistent classroom attendance translates to actual learning and long-term academic achievement, the program will also help the approximately 150,000 students who are currently enrolled in school by enhancing their reading and numeracy development.
The governor emphasised that the program goes beyond mere education financing. He emphasised the importance of making sure that every investment leads to tangible learning opportunities, opportunities for children, and outcomes that can be measured.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the program expands upon the successes of Project Zero, an initiative that was launched in 2021 to address the problem of children who did not attend school in the state.
He boasted that Project Zero, one of the government’s most significant efforts over the past decade, had helped Lagos find, follow up with, and enrol over 36,000 kids.
Additionally, he elaborated on how the next executive order would strengthen current initiatives to lower the percentage of children not in school and to hold communities, schools, and parents more accountable for the regular attendance of all children of school age.