The Plateau State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has charged the newly appointed Education Secretaries in the state to ensure that all children of school age are enrolled.

The Chairman of the board, Prof. Mathew Sule, made the call at the inauguration of the education secretaries for the 17 Local Government Areas of the state on Wednesday in Jos.

Sule, who decried the alarming number of out-of-school children in the state and country in general, said the onus was on the education secretaries to address the challenge.

“Currently, we have over 13 million out-of-school children in Nigeria. This is alarming.

“So, my first assignment for you is that you should ensure that all children of school age are enrolled, retained and helped to complete the basic education prgramme.

“The desire for proficiency in the context of helping a child write, read and exercise numeracy should remain uppermost.

“All methodologies and strategies required to raise the literacy level of the school child should be vigorously pursued,” he said.

Sule, who also decried the falling standard of basic education in the country, called on the education secretaries to be “high fliers” in discharging their duties.

He also said part of the challenges facing the education sector was partly from the poor readiness of school managers, adding that the challenge was prevalent among teachers at the foundation level.

He said: “The pre-mordial challenges facing the education sector stems partly from the poor readiness of school managers which is more severe among teachers at the foundation level.

“So, I want urge the newly appointed education secretaries to exhibit good conduct and wellness in their operational activities to guarantee prudency, accountability and transparency for the growth of education in the state.”

Sule appealed to chairmen of local government areas to support the education secretaries in whatever way to enable them to succeed in the discharge of their duties.