Refugees commission, Rochas foundation partner on IDPs’ education

The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) has said that it is committed to overseeing the education of the less privileged, especially refugees, IDPs and stateless persons in Nigeria.

Addressing newsmen Thursday in Abuja during a partnership visit of Rochas Foundation to the Commission, the Federal Commissioner of NCFRMI, Senator Basheer Garba Mohammed, said that there are many IDPs camps across the country, with more than 18 situated in different parts of the Federal Capital Territory and that the commission will start building schools in the IDPs camps from January next year.

He said: “This commission is mandated to coordinate all humanitarian responses, including refugees, IDPs and stateless persons. Our focus is to provide succour to those affected by insurgency in different parts of the country and to make education accessible to every Nigerian child. Regrettably, one of the challenges facing the nation is finding durable solution to insurgency and IDPs.

“As a result, we have many IDPs camp in different parts of the country, especially in the North East and FCT. However, starting from January next year, we will build nursery and primary schools in the IDPs camps. We will partner with NGOs, stakeholders and well meaning Nigerians for this purpose.”

Also speaking, founder of the Rochas Foundation and immediate past governor of Imo state, Senator Rochas Okorocha, said that he would partner with the NCFRMI, ministry of education and other stakeholders to make sure that the children of the less privileged are educated.

“The Rochas Foundation has been in existence in the past twenty one years, but this is our first visit to a government agency for partnership. IDPs live in terrible conditions, so we have to intervene. I recently visited Karamajiji IDPs camp here in the FCT and discovered that more than 1,200 children are out of school. If such a thing is happening here in the FCT, you can imagine the situation in the North East.

“We will do our best and partner with stakeholders to provide education for the IDPs, because government cannot do it alone. We will visit the IDPs and get statistics of those out of school and then establish emergency funds to address the issue. We will provide temporary classrooms in the IDPs camps for the children. We don’t know who will eventually find solutions to problems facing Nigeria and Africa, so let us join hands to promote free education,” he said.

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