Gov Mohammed Umaru-Bago of Niger, has advocated a review of education syllabuses to bolster enrolment and address out-of-school children menace.
Umaru-Bago said this during a National Colloquium held in honour of Mohammed Dzukogi, a literary icon, on his 60th birthday in Minna on Tuesday.
The governor said the state government was encouraging parents to enrol their children into schools.
He, therefore, urged stakeholders in education to cooperate with the state government to ensure that every school child was in school.
He described out-of-school-children syndrome as a menace not just in the state but in the entire northern region, adding that it should be tackled in accordance with the global demands.
The governor also said the state government would merge vocational and technical schools and renovate no fewer than 200 schools.
Bago used the forum to acknowledge Dzukogi for the works he has been doing especially in Hilltop Model Arts and his efforts in organising Arts Festival in honour of the late wife of Ibrahim Aliyu
He said he had immortalised through his good works and advocated a collaboration to redevelop the narrative about Niger.
He also re echoed the need to have a 30 year development plan for the state while emphasising the need to immortalise people who paid their dues by renaming some institutions of learning after them.
The chairman of the occasion, Prof. Mohammed Yahaya, described the celebrant as a literary giant, excellent scholar, and an erudite Nigerlite who is a source of inspiration to many.
While congratulating Dzukogi for his literary contributions to the state, Yahaya also commended the efforts of the governor in revamping the educational sector of the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that highlight of the occasion was the launch of four recently authored books by Dzukogi by the governor.
Umaru-Bago launched the Book on behalf of the state government with 40 million naira and 10 million for himself and his family.(NAN)
