Kano govt collaborates with Plan International to address out-of-school children
Kola Oyelere Kano
The Kano State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to collaborating with Plan International, a UK-funded program, to address the out-of-school children phenomenon in the state.
However,the state government said that ” This partnership aims to develop the entire education system and provide support to the state’s efforts in improving education.”
The State Commissioner of Education Dr. Ali Haruna Makoda made this known, while receiving management team from Plan international that paid him a courtesy visit in his office
According to him ” out-of- school children has become a common phenomenon in Nigeria, stressed the need for collaborative effort with development partners and other civil society organizations to address the situation”.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Director Public Enlightenment Ministry of Education, Kano, Alhaji Balarabe Abdullahi Kiru ,in which a copy was made available to press in Kano
The statement read :Dr Makoda stated that Kano State Government has recently established a committee to develop strategies for addressing the root causes of out-of-school children, including poverty and child labor.’
” Kano is having a unique demography due to its position as commercial centre in Africa. So, there is no state like Kano in terms of school population, that is why your intervention to education development is adequately needed.
” The presence administration under the leadership of Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf introduced lots of programmes on education. Your intervention will help immensely in developing the entire system ” Makoda said.
Dr. Makoda then announced that when this administration came on board, it inherited so many problems in the education sector which Governor Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf is now working tirelessly to address.
He disclosed that the government had constructed and renovated many schools across the state to ensure a conducive learning environment.
The Commissioner added that offer of pensionable and permanent appointments were given to over 5,600 BESDA teachers, revealing that arrangement has also been concluded to integrate over 4,000 more BESDA teachers coming up tomorrow Thursday.
Dr. Makoda therefore appealed to the project Country Director to continue to extend more helping hands to assist the state address the deplorable condition of the education sector.
Earlier, the Country Director Plan International Mr. Charles Usie said his team was at the Commissioner’s office to extend words of appreciation for the cordial working relationship that exists between Plan international and Kano State Government.
He explained that Plan International is implementing Accelerating Basic Education Program (ABEP) in Kano, Sokoto, and Jigawa states, targeting 324,000 out-of-school children aged 10-18.
Charles said the program provides non-formal education and vocational skills training to help children transition back to formal education or acquire employable skills.
The targeted local government areas piloting the project in Kano, according to the project Country Director include Nasarawa, Kumbotso, Gwale, Tudun Wada, and Rimin Gado.
“I have been to some of these areas to see how the program is taking place and we want to hear from you other areas that you may need our interventions ” said Charles.
Approximately, about 60,000 children will receive vocational skills training to provide alternative pathways for those not interested in secondary or tertiary education under the ABEP program.