Stakeholders, including clerics, educationists and parents, have called for coordinated efforts to address Nigeria’s growing out-of-school children crisis, warning that the trend poses a serious threat to the country’s development and security.
They made the call on Thursday during the second anniversary celebration and graduation ceremony of Mountain Top Schools in Abuja.
The event, held at the school’s Gwarimpa campus, brought together education stakeholders, religious leaders and parents, who stressed that sustainable progress in tackling the challenge would require greater investment in education by governments at all levels, the private sector, faith-based organisations and individuals.
Chairperson of the occasion, Mrs Rosemary Onoja, urged governments, development partners, civil society organisations, private sector players and parents to work collaboratively to ensure every Nigerian child has access to quality education.
Speaking on the theme, “Child Education and National Development,” Onoja said government must take the lead in fixing the country’s education sector to effectively reduce the number of out-of-school children.
According to her, while private schools have continued to complement government efforts, public authorities must fulfil their responsibility of providing universal access to basic education.
“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 commend private schools. They are doing very well. But moving forward, we must all play our part. The government should provide infrastructure, while teachers should remain committed to delivering quality education,” she said.
Onoja lamented that despite Nigeria’s abundant human and natural resources, the country still has the highest number of out-of-school children globally.
She also commended the management of Mountain Top Schools and called for greater support for mission schools, describing them as institutions committed to raising morally upright and God-fearing future leaders.
Also speaking, the Regional Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) North Central Region 47, Pastor Emmanuel Ayantuga, said Mountain Top Schools was established to provide quality education while instilling Christian values in children.
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According to him, the school currently caters for children from crèche to secondary level and is focused on nurturing both academic excellence and good character.
“Children are like blank pages. If you do not write the right things in their lives, someone else will write something different.
“I have a passion for positively impacting lives by introducing children to the gospel of Jesus Christ from an early age while giving them quality education. Beyond being a pastor, I have a background in education, and that inspired this vision,” he said.
Ayantuga described the anniversary as a celebration of God’s faithfulness, growth and the school’s achievements over the past two years.
He expressed appreciation to the General Overseer of MFM, Prof. Daniel Olukoya, and his wife, Dr (Mrs.) Folashade Olukoya, for their vision in establishing Mountain Top Schools.
“Their passion for laying godly foundations in the lives of young people continues to inspire us,” he said.
The cleric also disclosed that the school plans to expand its operations by introducing a Junior Secondary School section.
“That is one of the goals we are pursuing, and we trust God to complete our permanent two-storey school building,” he added.
Head Teacher of the school, Mrs Taiwo Elegbede, said Mountain Top Schools remained committed to delivering quality education rooted in Christian values at affordable rates.
She explained that the school offers subsidised tuition, with some pupils enjoying full scholarships while others receive discounted fees.
“We have pupils who pay nothing at all, while others pay reduced fees. I am proud of what we have achieved, and today we are celebrating both our second anniversary and the graduation of our pupils,” she said.
Some of the graduating pupils expressed excitement over completing another stage of their academic journey.
The celebration featured choreography, dance performances, news presentations and other displays by the pupils, while outstanding and graduating students received awards.
