285,000 Acquire UNICEF Learning Skills In Borno, Yobe w

United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) with funding from partnership for learning for all in Nigeria project of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Education Cannot Wait, has provided various learning skills to 285,000 beneficiaries in Borno and Yobe states, respectively.

The beneficiaries comprised 270,500 children aged six to 17 years ( 45 percent boys and 55 percent girls) ; 7200 educators and facilitators, 1,035 government officials and 2,235 school and centre-based management committee members.

Speaking to journalists yesterday during a field mission to some UNICEF supported schools in Jere and Maiduguri metropolis in commemoration of the International Education Day, the senior education adviser British High Commission, Mr Ian Attfield, said the programme which has four-year duration focuses on enhancing access to safe, inclusive and high quality learning particularly, reaching children, especially girls and those with disabilities, affected by conflict.

He said the partnership for learning for all Nigerian, an Education emergency programme (PLANE-EIE) is a four-year £16 million grant initiative initiated in December 2021 which is expected to conclude in December, 2025 being implemented in Borno and Yobe states, with UNICEF as the consortium lead alongside Plan International as consortium partner.

He said implementation areas include Maiduguri, Jere and Konduga local government areas in Borno State and Damaturu, Nguru and Potiskum local government areas in Yobe State.

“The Programme is in its third year of implementation, contributing significantly to the education sector’s recovery in conflict affected areas. This initiative underscores a comprehensive approach to addressing the educational challenges posed by conflict, specifically emphasising inclusivity and quality learning for vulnerable children,” Attfield said.

In his remarks, the UNICEF education officer in the Maiduguri office, Mustapha Shehu, said the funders visited the schools to inspect their investments, adding that Plan International supported teachers training in different ways.

He said Plan International also supported 140 schools, equipped them with learning materials adding that teachers were trained on Kanuri arithmetic and reading intervention.