The Osun State Government has dismissed a report published by a national daily (not PUNCH) purporting that the state has the highest number of out-of-school children in the South-West, describing it as misleading.
- +Osun denies report on 297,000 out-of-school children
A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Adekilekun Jimoh, and obtained in Osogbo on Saturday, said the report wrongly claimed Osun had 297,000 out-of-school children.
A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Adekilekun Jimoh, and obtained in Osogbo on Saturday, said the report wrongly claimed Osun had 297,000 out-of-school children.
The Permanent Secretary also said the report attributed the figure to a recently concluded media dialogue organised by the ministry in collaboration with UNICEF and held in Ede.
Jimoh said that at no point during the event was 297,000 presented as the number of out-of-school children in Osun State.
“We wish to clarify that at no point during the recently concluded media dialogue organised by the Osun State Ministry of Education in collaboration with UNICEF was the figure of 297,000 presented as the number of out-of-school children in Osun State.
“The figure presented during the programme was that approximately 97,000 learners have enrolled on the Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP) and Passport to Earn (P2E) platforms in Osun State. These figures relate to programme enrolment and participation, not to the population of out-of-school children.
“It is therefore surprising to see reports suggesting that the figure of 297,000 represents the number of out-of-school children in Osun State or that Osun has the highest number of out-of-school children in the South-West. Such a claim is malicious, damaging, and rejected in its totality, because neither such figure was presented nor attributed to the presentations during the programme,” the Permanent Secretary said.
Regarding the Nigeria Learning Passport and Passport to Earn initiatives discussed at the event, the Permanent Secretary said the initiatives were designed to expand access to learning opportunities and digital skills for children and young people.
The statement further read: “While we appreciate the role of the media in informing the public, inaccurate reporting can create unnecessary misconceptions about the education sector in Osun State. We respectfully urge media organisations to verify their statistics before publication and ensure that reports accurately reflect presentations made at official events.”
He called on the newspaper to withdraw the report from the public space and tender an apology to the Osun State Government, the Ministry of Education, and UNICEF for the incorrect reporting.
Government and other stakeholders in the education sector have been engaging to develop proper approaches to addressing the challenge of out-of-school children in the country.
The PUNCH reports that the Federal Government said it is intensifying efforts to bridge the gap for out-of-school children through coordinated reforms and targeted interventions across the country.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, stated this at the ongoing 2026 Basic Education in Nigeria Boot Camp Summit, a three-day event held in Jos, Plateau State, from April 28–30.
The summit is themed “Enhancing Access to Inclusive Quality Education and Bridging the Gap for Out-of-School Children in Nigeria.”
