By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri –
United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) has provided 102,859 children access to inclusive, equitable and quality education in a safe and protective learning environment mostly girls in Borno State.
Unicef has also supported a total of 29,985 out-of-school youths and adolescents , mostly females with vocational skills, including poultry farming, shoe making, soap and bag production, tailoring, painting, and interlock tiles production.
The Education Manager, UNICEF, Maiduguri Field Office, Ms Paola Ripamonti, disclosed this on Monday at a joint press conference organized by Borno State Government (BOSG) in collaboration with UNICEF.
While speaking on the theme titled: “EduTrac System and the mainstreaming of Psychosocial Support into Formal Education in Borno State”, Ms. Paola noted that the youths have already returned back to back their communities and started earning income to provide for their family’s basic needs.
She said some youths have even returned to school and are supporting their education with the income they earned from their businesses while 30 schools have also been rehabilitated and provided with furniture along with sex-segregated WASH facilities.
According to her, “28 vocational training centres were established across 6 LGAs of the state while58 temporary learning sheds or spaces were constructed as interventions to support over 300,000 children and youths, mostly females”.
The Education Manager stated that among them are 20,104 (53% girls) out-of-school children who now access informal learning classes and 16,630 children (52% girls) who transitioned into the formal education system; and over 29,000 youths (55% females) gained employable skills through vocational training.
Additionally,, the UNICEF Manager said 750 members of School-based Management Committees (44% females) have improved school management skills; 1,630 teachers and Community Volunteer Teachers (49% females) strengthened skills on various themes such as psycho-social support, gender-sensitive pedagogy and effective classroom management.
She however observed that the education sector in north-east Nigeria is one of the worst hit by protracted armed conflict while many other interventions led by UNICEF, the European Union Support to Response, Recovery and Resilience project in Borno State.
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Paola noted that this led to a partnership with the State Government to provide an integrated education response that generated demand for inclusive, and equitable quality education from communities, strengthened capacity of education personnel to gather and analyze school data for better educational planning and empowered school managers and community leaders as active participants in the education response.
She noted that the conference was aimed at highlighting the pilot of the EduTrac mobile phone-based data collection system and the mainstreaming of psychosocial support into formal education in Borno State.
“these interventions were landmarks to improve educational planning, expand access to education for conflict-affected children and strengthen learning outcomes while also improving their mental health”, she said.
Paola, however, acknowledged all media professionals for their support in promoting the wellbeing of vulnerable girls and boys in Borno State and across north-east Nigeria from malnutrition to child protection, stressing that,” your unbiased reportage has helped to bring issues that affect children to the limelight. UNICEF commends your efforts as stakeholders.”
“UNICEF commends the support and collaboration of the Borno State Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (MoRRR); Borno State Ministry of Education (MoE); SUBEB; Borno State Agency for Mass Education (SAME); Norwegian Refugee Council and Street Child for their partnership in implementing this project.
“UNICEF also acknowledges funding support of the EU to give a voice to vulnerable girls and boys throughout the state. UNICEF will continue to work with partners, including the state government, to promote and improve education, health, nutrition and child protection services, and to ensure the well-being of all girls and boys in Borno State,” Paola said.
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In his remarks, the representative of The Borno State Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR), Malam Babagana Gambo, appreciated UNICEF support to the education sector of th state especially, schools construction and rehabilitation, provisions of educational facilities and inconveniences among others across the state.
There were also goodwill messages from the representative of Mass Literacy Sandy Adult Education Agency, Borno State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEC) and the Norwegian Refugee Committee (NRC).
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