The Chad Basin Junior Day Secondary School Maiduguri has won the 2024 Spelling Bee and maths quiz competition organised by the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund ( UNICEF ) in collaboration with a humanitarian agency, Education Cannot Wait in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
LEADERSHIP reports that 43 Junior Day Secondary Schools competed for the Spelling Bee and maths quiz competition , out of which the Chad Basin Junior Day Secondary ; Lamisula Junior Day Secondary School and Kaleri Junior Day Secondary School emerged winners for the final phase of the competition.
At the grand finale held on Wednesday at the El Kanemi Hall of the University of Maiduguri, the Chad Basin Junior Day Secondary School emerged first in the competition with 12 points and cash price of N350,000; followed by Lamisula Junior Secondary School, coming second with 9 points and cash price of N180,000; while Kaleri Junior Day Secondary School won the third position with 8 points and cash price of N120,000.
Speaking at the event, UNICEF Chief of Field Office in Maiduguri, Phuong Nguyen called on various governments in the North East to increase their budgetary allocation to the educational sector for a quality and productive education.
She noted that more than half of all displaced children in North-East Nigeria are out -of – school, saying that 40% of schools in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states have teachers with minimum level of teaching qualifications.
“Less than 40 percent of schools in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states have teachers with the minimum level of teaching qualifications.As of today, more than half of all displaced children in North-East Nigeria are out of school.
“Every International Day of Education affords us the opportunity to look at how far we have come, we cannot lose sight of the huge gaps that still exist in reaching the most disadvantaged children in rural communities with quality and inclusive education,” Nguyen said.
She charged education stakeholders , both public and private, to redouble their efforts with innovative solutions even as the context of the operating environment is changing, assuring that UNICEF will continue to work with the Government, donors and other partners to raise the bar of education for girls and boys affected by conflict.
In a similar vein, Education experts, policy makers and managers in Borno have canvassed for more funds for education to address the current gaps in the sector in the northeast states.
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Borno former Commissioner of Education and teacher, Alhaji Inuwa Kubo, in his remark, called for community partnership and reorientation of teachers as well as parents.
” Teachers must be passionate about impacting knowledge, parents must cooperate with schools and avoid looking for shortcuts,” he said.
A UNICEF Education Officer, Tina Charles called on states and the federal government to increase finance to education.
“There is no way our education can be improved with the current budget. Since 2015, budget for education has continued to decrease. We must increase our education financing,” she said. End
