…reiterates commitment to education access, quality in Northwest Nigeria
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
In line with its commitment to reduce the high number of out-of-school children in Northwest Nigeria through improved access to quality education and empowering youths in the region, the European Union (EU) has announced the investment of €5.4 million in building the capacity of teachers in the region.
EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, made the disclosure in Abuja, recently, at the launch of the €4O million intervention programme on education and youth empowerment in North Western Nigeria through the Global Gateway initiative.
According to her, the fund was to ensure teachers get the necessary and upgraded skills and learning needed to arm students with requisite knowledge to become solution providers to the many challenges confronting Nigeria and the continent in general.
She said: “This component is complemented by a €5.4 million separate programme that we signed few days ago, which was dedicated to teachers, building their resilience and capacity in challenging environments. We need to remember that there is no education without teachers and that’s why we also have to invest in teacher training.
“The third objective of our programme is to empower youth with the skills they need, providing vocational education as promoting behavioral change campaigns to challenge harmful social norms and empower girls.
Urpilainen further promised that the EU will provide vocational education and training for Nigerian youths in order to equip them with the necessary skills required to excel in the labour market.
“This ambitious programme has been designed with Nigerian authorities to ensure the ownership and adequate response to the local needs. The EU is not only targeting the youth through this specific programme, it is also bringing the youth to the driving seat and this is why we set up the Youth Sounding Board, also here in Nigeria, as well as in many countries to ensure that what we do is for the youth but also by the youth.
“We have to include young people in the decision making, create spaces and structures to make them visible and watch them, and this is precisely what the EU is doing.”
Urpilainen noted that Nigeria was not only the economic powerhouse on the continent and the most populous country in Africa, but the country was also a strategic partner of the EU in the West region.
While describing education as the most transformative sector with ability to change the fortunes of a country, she noted that the programme will focus on pulling children, especially girls, off the streets to get the required education through various components aimed at achieving one objective; access to quality education and youth empowerment.
She maintained that education is the most transformative sector in which needs increased investment, and it is the cornerstone for creating resilient societies and finding solutions to the biggest challenges of our time.
“So the EU investment on access, skills and quality education and youth empowerment in Northwestern Nigeria brings actually all these different components together. It will be deployed in the Northwest Nigeria.
“The programme supports access to education for out-of-school children with a specific focus on bringing and keeping girls in schools. It also includes direct assistance to families, cash, transfers, social protection, income generation, gifts and indirect assistance through agricultural practices. I think it’s important that we are able to provide access to education each and every child in Nigeria so no one is left behind.
“Another objective of the programme is to promote teaching and learning in targeted schools. So, it will support child centred medical, sexual reproductive health racial gender equality training and support community based and state level capacities to deliver on education.”
Speaking on behalf of the Northwestern states, Governor of Jigawa State, Umar Namadi, appreciated EU for helping the region tackle the menace of out-of-school children, and said they are committed to making education a priority in their respective states, and have also decided to invest heavily in the sector.
He said: “The Northwestern states have the highest population in the country. Unfortunately, we are more disadvantaged when it comes to education. So, this support is coming at the right time.
“For each of us, education is a priority and we have decided collectively and individually to invest in education and we are ready to change the narrative in next four years.
“This support has come at the right time and I assure you that this support will go a long way in helping us to revamp education in our various states. This intervention we will utilize in the best way possible and I assure you that the outcomes would be something commendable to improve our educational system and other aspects of social development.”
On his part, Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, warned that any attempt to downplay education would cost the country a fortune in terms of welfare and security.
” If our youths are not properly catered for, trained and empowered, then we are toying with the future of the country. Not catering for them will allow poverty to grow, insecurity to foster.”
Mamman who urged state governors to focus on prioritizing education and youth empowerment, disclosed that soon-to-be-released education sector roadmap covers same objectives of the EU in revamping the sector.
“Our focus is shifting to basic education, out-of-school children, adolescent girls who needs to be trained and empowered.
“Our government is ready to commit 25 per cent of the budget on education, all the President needs is policies that would justify that budget, and that is what we are working on,” Mamman explained.