A Pan-Nigeria non-profit organisation, Regalo Hope Foundation (RHF) says it has sponsored about 729 out-of-school children across 20 states in Nigeria back to school.

Chinenye Onuorah, founder, RHF, made this known at the Edustake Conference 2025 it organised in Lagos on Friday in commemoration of the 2025 International Day for Education.

The conference had the theme: “Transforming Education Through Technology.”

Ms Onuorah said that the Foundation sponsored these children as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and to complement government’s efforts aimed at reducing the number of out-of-school children in the country.

She said the foundation had been supporting schools through various programmes, including quiz competitions.

The RHF founder added that it had plans to adopt more children but was faced with the challenge of funding, saying, “we cannot adopt as much at the same time.”

She said that the project required governments’ support to reduce the trend of out-of-school children in the country.

Ms Onuorah said that, according to UNESCO, Nigeria had one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children in the world -approximately 10.5 million children remain outside of formal education.

She, however, urged all the three tiers of government to do more, to adopt as many children as possible and re-enroll them back to government institutions.

“So for out-of-school children, government has a huge part to play and needs to support private entities like the NGOs, those who are into CSR projects and adopting children back to school.

“I believe all the three tiers of governments, especially the state governments, have the capacity to adopt children back to school, especially to government institutions.

“This is also a call to the government to embrace awarding of scholarships as much as possible to out-of-school children so that they can adopt them into government institutions.

“It is also a call to private entities who have the resources to also join in that cause, to adopt lots of children back to school.

“That way, we can reduce the number. Some years ago, the number dropped but suddenly, there was a surge again in out-of-school children,” she said.

Speaking on technology, Ms Onuorah noted technology was very important in advancing learning in the education system.

She said that part of what the foundation does was to support educators, learners with technology tools to be able to improve learning in the classroom and beyond.

Ms Onuorah explained that to prepare the youths for the future, the country must embrace a new educational paradigm that equipped these youths with the skills necessary to thrive in an ever- changing world.

According to her, part of what the foundation has talked about is the launch of the Teachers Leadership Academy web-based platform for learning.

“I think two years ago at the Edustake conference, we made a call to the government to embrace technology in the classroom and we are glad that it was recognised.

“So it is a call to teachers, to schools to embrace technology in training their teachers. You know that these days, training teachers can come with a lot of costs, sending them to school of education.

“However, we are offering leadership training to these teachers because we need to mold the people who instill knowledge in our children.

In his keynote address, Dr Nnamdi Ozobia, a technology expert, said that Nigeria needed a multi-faceted approach that focused on public-private partnerships, policy and regulatory frameworks.

He added that the country also needed to improve teachers’ training to transform education through technology.

Mr Ozobia said Nigeria was still confronted with a multitude of challenges such as overcrowded classrooms, inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of qualified teachers.

He added that there was also a lack of basic educational resources in many rural and underserved areas.

According to him, if Nigeria can embrace technology, it can create a dynamic education system – one that empowers students to reach their full potential and equips them with the skills they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

He said: “This future will not happen overnight. It will require the collective effort of every stakeholder -governments, educators, technologists, parents, and students – working together.

Mr Ozobia, who is the chairman/chief executive officer of Cyka Petroleum Nigeria, said that Nigeria was a nation of over 200 million people, with a youthful population eager for knowledge and opportunities like the rest of the world.

“Approximately 60 per cent of Nigeria’s population are youths between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five. This demographic characteristic makes Nigeria one of the countries with a significant youth population.

“This has implications for its economic, social policies and development strategies and while we have made significant strides in improving access to education, we are still confronted with a multitude of challenges,” he said.

Mr Ozobia added that, for context, Lagos as an example had an area of 1,171 square kilometers; about 452 square miles and had 1000 primary schools, 800 secondary schools and 10 universities with a population of over 14 million.

He said by harnessing technology as a transformative tool, Nigeria could empower her youths to not only meet the challenges of today but to shape a brighter future for tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the event featured playlets, dances, the final stage of a Spelling Bee and current affairs for schools.

Grimes International College came Ist position with N500,000 star prize in the competition with Egan Senior Grammar School occupying the 2nd position and winning N300,000.

Stadem College came 3rd position and won N200,000.

Other awardees are Arum Joe, who won the RHF Legend’s Award and a cash prize of N500,000; while Moses Ogundeji got the award for RHF’s Award for Impact with N300,000.

Najeem Tijesu carted away N200,000 in the 2nd position and Arinola Abiodun in the 3rd position got N100,000, respectively.

(NAN)