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Group photo at the official opening of the cash disbursement to 2,674 Almajiri children, as part of the Street Children program in Kaduna state.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has pledged a continued partnership with the Kaduna State Government to reach vulnerable children across the state with quality child protection services.
Dr. Wilfred Mamah of UNICEF's Child Protection Services said this in Kaduna on Wednesday, at the official launch of the Children in Street Situation cash disbursement to 2,674 children in Almajiri.
Mamah added that the partnership would also ensure that all vulnerable children are protected from all forms of abuse, violence and neglect.
He explained that the Children in Street Situation Program was under the Grant of the National Committee of the United Kingdom.
He noted that COVID-19 has brought to the fore the heightened vulnerability of street children, especially Almajiri children who lack parental support and care.
He said the Almajiri system's long history of informal guardianship arrangements exposes children to violence, abuse and neglect, hindering their rights to life, survival and development.
According to him, the response of the State that saved the lives of these children in the midst of covid-19 will continue to be the point of reference for the human reunification of almajiros and street children with their families.
“UNICEF's alliance with the state through the Ministry of Human Services and Social Development (MHSSD), registered the highest number of successful reunifications of 10,817 Almajiri children, the highest in the country.
“This life-saving reunification of children was captured using the innovative Child Protection Information Management (CPIMS) tool.”
He explained that the Street Children and Adolescent Girls programs are being implemented in the state after the success of the reunification program.
The child protection specialist said that so far, a total of 209,950 street children, including adolescents, have been captured in the CPIMS, based on their vulnerability.
He said that the figure is made up of 105,726 almajiro children outside family care and 104,224 adolescent girls out of school.
According to him, the situation of the children of Almajiri and the scenario that characterizes it continue to be one of the critical drivers of the deschooling of children in the state.
“It is to reverse this trend that UNICEF is collaborating with the MHSSD and other stakeholders to provide critical services to the reunited Almajiri children and facilitate their full integration with their communities.
“So far, we have been able to provide key services to the 2,674 Almajiri children who were left at home after the reunifications.”
He identified the services as the creation of bank accounts for children for a monthly cash transfer of N5,000, and the registration and issuance of the National Identification Number.
The other services, he said, include the acquisition of legal identification and birth registration, enrollment in school, and the provision of school uniforms and teaching materials.
“We hope that these initial services will be a springboard for more targeted assistance to these children, including adolescent girls, that will enhance human capital development in the state,” he said.
Mamah appealed to Governor Nasir El-Rufai to consider urgently releasing a matching grant for the program as promised at the start of the project.
According to him, this will allow the state government to expand the intervention to fully integrate all children into communities to make the most of their potential.
Earlier, the Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, thanked UNICEF, other development partners and stakeholders for supporting the initiative.
Balarabe, who was represented by Kanyi, El-Rufai's deputy chief of staff, said that each of the 2,674 Almajiri would receive N5,000 per month as a cash transfer.
He added that there was already a plan to increase the amount to N10,000 in the following months, with a view to ensuring that children are enrolled and stay in school.
“Under the program, the National Population Commission is providing children with birth certificates; Kaduna SUBEB is providing reading materials, while Keystone Bank opened accounts for beneficiaries.
“Kaduna State Residents Identity Management Agency is registering and enrolling children with National Identification Number (NIN) while UNICEF is providing the funds for cash disbursement,” he said.
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Source Credit: NAN
The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, says the Federal Government is set to collaborate the Ministry of Education, Stakeholders on a new Programme to improve access to toilets and WASH facilities in Schools.
“The new initiative ‘School WASH’ will be targeted first to Federal Government Institutions, Colleges of Education universities,polytechnics starting from 2023.
“We are ready and hope that the Federal Ministry of Education is ready, we will be talking to SUBEB, TETFund and will also be going down to State and Local Governments to see that they are also carried along.
”
He stated that this had become imperative because despite all that has been done on these collaborations in the past, the indices collected from surveys,had continued to grow.
“We have sent a draft MOU to the Ministry of Education.
We also have a budget line starting from 2023. We hope the ministry will keep pace with our enthusiasm to ensure we attack this indices,” he said.
The News Agency of NIgeria reports that the 2022 World Toilet Summit scheduled to hold in Nigeria is a unique global platform in which Stakeholders, NGOs,Development Partners and high-level Decision Makers would come together to better strategise and address in-country Sanitation challenges.
They will also proffer solutions that will help to resolve the issues around Open Defecation.
The Minister said that the World Press Conference had become imperative to bring Nigeria up to speed as preparations are on for Nigeria’s hosting of the World Toilet Summit set to hold on Nov. 18 and Nov. 19, 2022.
“This is a global event which will provide an excellent opportunity to bring greater visibility to the issue of ending open defecation in Nigeria .
“It is expected to enhance Nigeria’s capability to be better equipped towards meeting the target
of ending open defecation by 2025.”
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, during her welcome address said that the theme of the summit “Towards Sanitation Innovations for Economic Development”, was an opportunity to enable participants, exhibitors and other stakeholders in the sector, have wider range of vision within the sanitation value chain.
This global Press Conference has become important because accurate and correct informative messages about the summit will be disseminated to the general public for the creation of awareness on new innovations, instant exposure on the benefits of the summit for increased technological, cost effective investment, and entrepreneurial potentials,”she added.
NewsSourceCredit: NAN
The Plateau Government on Thursday said it had recruited 4,850 ad hoc teachers as part of efforts to address the shortage of teachers in the state.
Gov Simon Lalong of Plateau announced this on Thursday, at the inuaguaration of model primary schools and education resource centre in Shehe, Jos .
“In order to meet the human capital requirement, government recruited 4,850 ad-hoc teachers and deployed them to basic education schools across the State.
“Government through the Board(State Universal Basic Education) is in the process of recruiting additional set of ad hoc teachers in collaboration with Local Government Councils .
”The state government will recruit more ad hoc teachers to address shortage of manpower in the education sector,” he said.
Lalong also said the state government has trained over 10,000 teachers on literary skills to improve their capacity and the standard of education in the state .
He said results showed that the teachers who were selected from the Early Child Care Development Education, Primary and Junior Secondary Schools, contributed immensely in improving literacy level in schools.
“No wonder the Universal Learning Solutions Initiative reported a 65 per cent increase in literacy level in lower Public Primary school learners in the state this year alone,” he said .
The governor said that he recently approved the release of back- log promotion of primary school teachers, as part of efforts toward developing a viable educational sector in Plateau.
He said that the 800 capacity education resource centre would provide an enabling environment for the capacity development for teachers, saying the facilities would also be available for use by private and public institutions.
“I believe this centre will help to mould our teachers for better service delivery by ensuring that the personal and practical skills needed for trained teachers to succeed is embedded into their lives,” he said.
He said that the state government’s priority on education is reflected in its commitment on providing counterpart funding, to enable SUBEB access grants from the Universal Basic Education Commission.
(UBEC).
“ So far, a total of over N9.8 billion was provided by the state government as counterpart funding, while about N16.7 billion was accessed and utilised in transforming the educational fortunes of our children in the Basic Education sub-sector,” he said .
He said that the action has facilitated infrastructural development of 1,528 projects, in addition to the procurement of 127,000 plastic furniture which were distributed to public primary schools across the state .
The governor said that the interventions have also improved school enrollment and numeracy skills among learners.
Earlier in his remarks, the Plateau Executive Chairman of SUBEB , Prof. Mathew Sule thanked the governor for his commitment toward improving education.
He explained that human capital development is critical and a prerequisite to achieve quality education, saying the centre would ensure teachers are effective in discharging their duties.
He however said that inspite the difficult financial situation in the state , more funding was required to provide basic education to children, particularly those whose parents cannot afford sponsoring them.
The governor also inuaguated a one -storey block of classroom at Obasanjo Model primary School,Hwolshe.
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NewsSourceCredit: NAN
The Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (Kaduna SUBEB), has earmarked N1.06 billion to pilot Open School Programme (OSP) in 10 Local Government Areas of the state in 2023.
This is contained in the state’s 2023 Budget Proposal of N370.3 billion before the State Assembly, obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria in Kaduna on Wednesday.
NAN reports that the OSP is an initiative of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), introduced in 2020 to mop-up out-of-school children in the country.
The commission explained that the OSP is a flexible education system that allows learners to learn where they are and when they want, away from conventional schools and teachers.
The breakdown of the budget document shows that Kaduna SUBEB got N45.64 billion, made up of N40.22 billion for capital and N5.42 for recurrent expenditure.
The N45.64 billion represents 12.32 per cent of the total budget and 42.36 per cent of the N107.72 billion allocated to the education sector.
The document shows that out of the N40.22 billion allocated for capital projects, N15.59 billion would be spent on UBEC intervention projects – school improvement programme and teachers’ professional development.
Other UBEC interventions include construction and renovation of basic schools, agricultural development programme, sports development and quality assurance and school monitoring.
Also, N7.19 billion would be spent on construction and renovation of schools under the Reaching Out of School Children programme.
The document further shows that N4.93 billion was allocated for rollover of 2022 primary education development projects, and N4.32 million for installation of human resource software.
Also, a total of N9.48 million was earmarked for the development of handbook human resources, N9.48 million for development of policy, and N5.1 million for training of Management Information System.
It further shows that N4.1 million was allocated for the conduct of Medium-Term Strategic Plan training on digital literacy, while N4.17 million would be spent on sensitisation and enrolment drive of out-of-school children.
A total of N11.42 billion was earmarked for several interventions under the World Bank-supported Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA).
The intervention includes provision of school materials for out-of-school children, provision of school grants for BESDA schools, and provision of literacy materials for intensive programme.
Other programmes are training of teachers and head teachers on intensive literacy programmes, provisions of supplementary readers and other instructional materials and impact evaluation assessment.
The amount would also be spent on accountability and system strengthening, installation and development of BESDA Education Management Information System and provision of infrastructure to BESDA schools.
Commenting on the budget, Mr Martin Dangwa, Chairman, Evidence Committee, Kaduna Basic Education Accountability Mechanism, said that over 15 per cent of the allocation for basic education are grants from UBEC and BESDA.
While commending the government for increasing the allocation to the education sector, from N66.40 billion in 2022 to N107.72 billion in 2023, Dangwa stressed the need for increased funding of basic education.
He also called for timely release of the allocated fund to enable the board to implement planned programmes and projects designed to improve the quality of basic education delivery system in Kaduna state.
NewsSourceCredit: NAN
The Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE), with support from the UK, on Tuesday inaugurated an inclusive education Programme in Minjibir local government area of Kano state.
Inaugurating the programme, its Technical Director, Emily Koester, said that PLANE was a seven-year education programme funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to invest in more inclusive and effective education system in Nigeria.
She explained that the project worked to deliver a more inclusive and effective education system and improve learning outcomes for students in their pre-primary and primary years.
She said, “PLANE focuses on improving basic education and tackling fundamental system constraints by raising the quality of teaching and learning for foundational skills.
“It also supports improvements in school management and teaching colleges; supporting the state’s education sector through policy formulation, budgeting, and management reforms.
“It also unlocks governance bottlenecks to support improvements in frontline education delivery.
”
Vanessa Edheberu, the Head of gender and community mobilisation of the Programme, said it would be implemented in 11 local governments of the state.
According to her, the project will also be done in Karaye, Takai and Gabasawa local government areas within the week.
She added that 15 clusters in Minjibir would receive learning materials.
Earlier, the state Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Abdullahi Yanshana, thanked FCDO for implementing the PLANE programme in the state.
Yanshana, who was represented by Abass Abdullahi, pledged that Kano State would mobilise relevant stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of the programme.
Hajiya Suwaiba Sade of the Kano State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, said that the PLANE programme would significantly help in tackling some challenges affecting the state’s education sector.
Some parents who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria lauded the Federal Government, FCDO and the Kano State Government for the project.
NewsSourceCredit: NAN
Katsina State Government says it will receive World Bank’s additional N2.25 billion support under the Better Education Service Delivery For All (BESDA) project.
Malam Aminu Badaru, the spokesperson, Katsina State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Katsina.
According to him, the Executive Chairman of SUBEB, Alhaji Lawal Buhari-Daura, said this at a 3-Day capacity building workshop for Education Management Information System (EMIS) and Statistician Officers.
He said that the workshop was organised by the World Bank Supported project BESDA, in collaboration with the Katsina SUBEB holding in Kano State.
“Sequel to the report of the independent Verification Agency Submitted to the BESDA National Coordinating support team, Katsina remains eligible for additional funds for the project.
“The Funds will be used to focus on increase in access to Basic Education across the state.
” Badaru quoted the SUBEB chairman as saying.
He, therefore, called on the participants to remain steadfast and attentive so as to accurately use the knowledge acquired in their respective areas.
According to Badaru, the Director Planning Research and Statistics of SUBEB, Alhaji Lwal Kofar-Sauri, revealed that 73 EMIS and statistician officers were drown from the 34 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and SUBEB for the training.
He added that the director noted that the BESDA result area three had already provided laptops and tablets to the EMIS and statisticians for the conduct of accurate data collections and analysis.
The Director also hinted that BESDA project had also provided tablets for digital attendance and annual schools census across primary schools in the state.
NewsSourceCredit: NAN
The American University of Nigeria (AUN) Yola, in collaboration with UNICEF, has enrolled and distributed learning materials to 100 vulnerable Almajiri children under the AUN’s Feed and Read project in Yola-South area.
At the official ceremony on Saturday in Yola, Mr Joel Jutum, UNICEF Education Consultant in Adamawa, said providing equitable access to quality education was the right of the children.
He said UNICEF Nigeria was sponsoring AUN to provide foundational literacy and numeracy to 50 girls and boys.
Jutum said each of the learners was equipped with assorted materials in UNICEF brand school bags.
He encouraged the children to be punctual and charged SUBEB for effective monitoring for the success of the programme throughout the three months period.
Mr Obindu Raymond, AUN’s Director, Feed and Read programme, appreciated the contributions of UNICEF for impacting positively on the children.
“We are so excited to partner with the UNICEF; thank you for the wonderful gesture.
“We are hoping that this learning materials could help these young ones to be able to utilize it.
”
According to him, the school bag and other learning materials will give beneficiaries a sense of belonging and called on the children to keep the bag serious for better education.
Dr Atique Salihi, Executive Secretary, Adamawa State Universal Basic Education ADSUBEB, commended UNICEF for impacting positively on educational development in the state.
Atique, who was represented by the board’s Desk Officer, Pre-primary Education, Mrs Pwakulenu Maxwell, called on the beneficiaries to understand that their enrollment was to teach them how to read write.
According to her, from the basic level, if they succeed, they can go up to tertiary institution to further their education.
NewsSourceCredit: NAN
No fewer than 73,000 applicants have applied for about 10,000 primary school teaching jobs advertised by the Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (Kaduna SUBEB).
This was disclosed by Alhaji Tijjani Abdullahi, the Executive Chairman, Kaduna SUBEB, in Kaduna on Monday at the start of the computer-based test at the Kaduna State University Centre for the shortlisted applicants.
Abdullahi, represented by Mr Mubarak Mohammed, the Board’s Permanent Member, Project, said that the examination was taking place simultaneously in centres in Kaduna, Zaria and Kafanchan .
He said that the examination, which would last from Oct. 17 to Oct. 28, would be thorough, adding that only qualified and competent applicants would be recruited.
“Selecting the 30,000 to sit for the computer-based test was the first hurdle to be scaled.
Writing the computer-based test is the second hurdle and only those who pass will be shortlisted for interview.
“I want to assure the public that only the best of the best will be recruited to teach in our classrooms so that they will give our children the best.
“This is to build the strong educational foundation they need to thrive in their educational journey,” he said.
He explained that the board adopted the computer-based test to ensure that those that would be recruited were computer literate, to enable them align with the technologically-driven world.
“If you are not computer literate, it means you do not have a place in our classrooms,” the chairman told the prospective teachers.
Abdullahi also explained that the recruitment became necessary because of the identified teacher-gap in primary schools across the state, after a teacher-gap analysis conducted by the board.
He attributed the gaps to retirement, resignation, deaths, and disengagement of incompetent ones, which he said created a huge gap in human resources in the board.
He disclosed that when concluded, the teachers would be deployed based on areas of need, adding that right from the application process, the candidates were asked to select the school they woukd like to be posted to.
Also speaking, the Permanent Member, Human Resource Management, Dr Christy Alademerin, said that the recruitment would be based on merit.
Alademerin said that after the recruitment, there would be opportunities for training and retraining of the teachers to improve their capacities to deliver quality teaching.
One of the applicants, Yakubu Emmanuel, who successfully wrote the test expressed optimism that he would be shortlisted for the interview if the process was fair and based on merit.
Emmanuel, who holds a Nigeria Certificate of Education (NCE) said that he loves the profession and appealed to the Kaduna State Government to give him the chance to contribute his quota.
Another applicant with NCE in Physical and Health Education, Mr Alfred Collins, equally said that he applied for the job because of the passion he has for the profession.
Collins, who was waiting for his turn to write the test, said teaching was his dream job, and asked God to help him pass the test.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that many applicants at the test centre were observed not to be computer compliant as they found it difficult to log into the computer to write the test.
Some of them, predominantly older women, were seen struggling to find the delete key and space bar on the computer keyboards assigned to them for the test.
NewsSourceCredit: NAN
The Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr Hamid Bobboyi, says the 37 smart schools the Federal Government is building are consistent with world standards and global best practices in smart education.
The Head, Public Relations, UBEC, Mr David Apeh said this in a statement released in Abuja on Sunday, adding that the schools are located in different states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Apeh said that the executive secretary made the assertion at the end of a study tour which he led to South Korea.
According to him the tour comprised some SUBEB chairmen and top officials from UBEC, Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the National Teachers Institute (NTI).
He said that the one-week study tour which took place from Sept. 20th to 26th, was organised by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)
“This is part of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between UBEC and KOICA.
“The MoU was on strengthening the ICT utilisation capability of smart schools’ teachers, improvement of accessibility to high quality teaching and learning contents, and infrastructural assistance to six smart schools.
’’
He said that the delegation visited some smart schools in South Korea and discovered that the smart schools being established by the Federal Government were of exceptionally high standards.
He said this was in terms of the befitting school infrastructure, state-of-the-art equipment and teaching facilities.
Bobboyi explained that Nigeria had a lot to learn from the Korean education system and promised that the lessons learned would be judiciously used in the Nigerian Smart Schools Programme.
He said that the study trip and the other interventions by KOICA would go a long way in strengthening the mutually beneficial affiliation between Nigeria and South Korea.
NewsSourceCredit: NAN
The AIDS Health Care Foundation (AHF), an NGO, has called on stakeholders to implement policies for young women and girls to ensure equal access to quality healthcare, education and economic opportunities.
This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Steve Aborisade, the Advocacy and Marketing Manager, AHF Nigeria, on Sunday in Abuja, ahead of the 2022 International Day of the Girl Child (IDGC).
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that IDGC is commemorated annually on Oct.11, to celebrate the importance, power and potentials of adolescent girls around the world, as set aside by the United Nations.
The event themed: “Our Rights, Our Future”, intends to educate and empower girls to succeed by taking control of their health, promoting girls’ rights and bringing awareness to the challenges they face.
Terri Ford, AHF Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy, said girls and young women are disproportionately affected by HIV and many other issues surrounding public health.
According to him, AHF is committed to working very hard to help ensure girls have every opportunity to thrive with the help of AHF Girls Act programme launched in 2016, in Africa.
“At least 129 million girls worldwide are not attending school, an issue exacerbated by inadequate access to menstrual hygiene products and facilities.
“COVID-19 lockdown also caused higher rates of gender-based violence, while teenage pregnancies skyrocketed during the pandemic.
“In sub-Saharan Africa, six in seven new HIV infections among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years are among girls.
“Also girls and young women aged 15 to 24 years are twice more likely to be living with HIV than young men,’’ Ford said.
The AHF Chief further urged government and stakeholders to implement policies and programmrs for young women and girls to ensure equal access to quality healthcare, education and economic opportunities.
Dr Echey Ijezie, the Country Programme Director, AHF Nigeria, emphasised the need for access to age-appropriate Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE), that empowers youths with knowledge, tools and skills needed for informed and responsible healthy choices.
Ijezie however called on government and stakeholders to create opportunities that ensure young women and girls have access to age-appropriate CSE for their health, dignity and wellbeing.
“In commemoration of the 2022 IDGC, AHF country teams will hold ‘Our Rights, Our Future’ events around the world to bring girls together through fun, educational and empowering sessions.
“Advocates would address menstrual health management, age-appropriate comprehensive sexual education, staying in school, avoiding unplanned pregnancy, building self-confidence, among others.
“In Nigeria, AHF and partner, Strong Enough Girls Empowerment Initiative (SEGEI) will engage critical stakeholders such as Ministries of Education, Health and Women Affairs, FCT Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
“Others include School Based Management Committees (SBMCs), Secondary Education Board (SEB) and female students, in an impactful conversation as it relates CSE also known as Family Life and Education (FLHE) in Nigeria.
”
Ijezie further stated that girls deserve the chance to succeed, saying IDGC 2022 is the perfect commemoration to empower girls with tools to take charge of their health and fulfil their potentials.
NAN reports that AHF is a global non-profit organisation providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to over 1.6 million people in 45 countries, including Nigeria.
NewsSourceCredit: NAN
