By Saheed Ibrahim

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The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has stressed the need for quality education to address the high rate of child labour in Nigeria.

ILO made the submission at the handover of the newly renovated L. A. Primary School, Oke Agunla in Ondo State, where 110 children at risk of child labour in the community were enrolled.

“The children were also provided with back-to-school kits, which include school bags, textbooks, uniforms, notebooks, sandals and socks.

Speaking on the move, the Director of ILO Abuja Country Office for Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, and Liaison office for ECOWAS, Ms. Vanessa Phala, said education is vital to eliminating child labour in Nigeria.

Phala noted that nearly 28 percent of children aged 5 to 11 years and 35 percent aged 12 to 14 years in child labour were out of school.

According to the last National modular child labour survey country report in Nigeria, there are not less than 15 million working children, with about 6 million in child labour and half the number trapped in hazardous work.

“The impact of this indecent exposure of our children to unfair labour practices is visible in our collective safety and development, as out-of-school children are vulnerable to the negative influences of criminals who take advantage of their innocence to sustain criminal activities from one generation to the next,” she acknowledged.

Phala expressed hope that the children of Oke-Agunla would grow up to be the leaders their village desired, as well as the citizens of whom their country could be proud.

Representing the Ondo State Government, the Coordinator of Ondo State Operations Coordinating Unit, Mr. Olaoluwa Bankole, assured that the government would complement the kind gestures of ILO-ACCEL by addressing the problem of staff shortage in the school.

He expressed the appreciation of the Ondo State Government to ILO-ACCEL Africa for the tremendous support to quality education in the state by renovating the Oke Agunla Community School, Ondo State.

The Head Teacher of the school, Pastor Bello Ayodele, disclosed that the enrollment figure of the school increased after the renovation of six classrooms and eight toilet facilities in the school premises.