A non-governmental organization, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in collaboration with the Centre for Advocacy, Transparency and Accountability Initiatives (CATAI), has provided educational support for over 25,000 children affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State.
The project, funded by the European Union EU), provides access to safe and quality education for vulnerable conflict-affected children in Monguno and Dikwa local government areas of the state.
At a close-out meeting yesterday in Maiduguri, the country director of JRS in Nigeria, Rev. Fr. Temple Anuforo, said the Boko Haram insurgency had severely impacted education in Borno and the entire Northeast zone, with over one million children out of school and more than 547 teachers killed since the conflict began.
He added that the JRS project had helped to address the challenge through the provision of access to quality education and supporting teachers through training programmes.
Anuforo said the beneficiaries of the education support include 23,442 children including 18,905 school-aged children, who accessed improved formal education and 4,170 school-aged children who accessed non-formal education
He said the close-out meeting provided an opportunity for stock-taking and to conduct a comprehensive review of the project’s implementation, evaluating progress made toward the planned objectives and deliverables.
“The project started in July 2023 and is ending on June 30, 2025. It was implemented by JRS Nigeria and the Centre for Advocacy, Transparency and Accountability Initiatives (CATAI) in Monguno and Dikwa local government areas of Borno State. It reached more than 24,900 children and 260 adults, including both Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and host community members.
“JRS and CATAI have jointly implemented a series of impactful activities to enhance education and school infrastructure in eight schools across Monguno and Dikwa local government areas, with plans to expand our intervention to Ngala and other local government areas severely affected by the insurgency.
“The interventions carried out by the project include, Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) targeted at identifying, teaching and mainstreaming out- of – school children into formal school, the provision of capitation grants to schools to address priority needs by school management committees, the construction and renovation of educational facilities, and improvements to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems.
“ Key achievements include the development of new classroom blocks, gender-separated sanitation facilities, temporary learning spaces for out-of-school children, crèches, and the installation of reliable water facilities. These interventions aim to foster a safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environment for all students,” he said.
One of the beneficiaries of the project, a 15-year-old Yagana Babagana who shared her experience, said,”My family and I were displaced. We fled to Maiduguri, then the government moved us to Monguno. My parents are traders, and I have six siblings. When we came here, we were not going to school and when we wanted to enroll in school, the school said that we had to join afternoon classes so that we could qualify to join the main class and that is how I joined the ALP class.
“My learning is progressing, I have learnt to write my name and my parents’ names. l can write ABC to Z and numbers up to 100. I want to be a teacher. Our teachers help us in many ways. Education is important, so l told my friends to join the ALP class,” she said.
In his remarks, the Auxiliary Bishop of Maiduguri Catholic Diocese, who is the chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Borno State chapter, Most Rev John Bogna Bakeni, said JRS had intervened in critical areas of education, WASH, livelihoods, training and capacity protection and empowerment.
He added that they were critical to building resilience and recovery of those affected by the insurgency, adding that through intervention they had impacted over 25,000 lives.
