Federal Government Expands Adult Literacy With 8,000 Learning Centres

The federal government said more than 8,000 learning centres have been established across the country to expand access to adult literacy and non-formal education.

Dr John Edeh, the Director overseeing the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC), disclosed this in an interview on Thursday in Abuja.

Edeh, who is also the Director of Literacy and Development at NMEC, said the centres are spread across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), designed to provide second-chance education opportunities for youths and adults who missed formal schooling.

According to him, additional centres are being opened under the Universal Basic Education intervention support fund to reach underserved communities.

“We have opened close to 136 learning centres in FCT alone. We have also opened more than 50 additional learning centres in each of the states,” he said.

He explained that in Ibadan, where the commission has an office, an additional 74 learning centres have been opened, while Owerri now has 64 new centres. Similar expansions, he said, have also been carried out in Bauchi, Gombe, Akwa Ibom, Katsina, and Niger States.

“These are the additional learning centres that we have opened to complement the existing ones,” he added.

Edeh noted that although the centres currently serve less than one million learners, the government is scaling up operations to enrol an additional 50,000 to 100,000 learners within six months.

“Our target is to make sure that within the next six months, we will be able to bring back additional 50,000 to 100,000 learners to our learning centres,” he said.

He added that beneficiaries would be supported with starter packs after graduation, particularly those who opt for vocational training.

Edeh further stated that literacy programmes are now being integrated with vocational skills to improve economic empowerment and self-reliance among learners.