Month: September 2023

The Education Secretariat, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says it is aligning skills acquisition with formal and nonformal education in its mass literacy programme.

The acting Secretary of the secretariat, Malam Abdulrazaq Leramoh, stated this at a press conference to mark the 2023 International Literacy Day (ILD).

The theme of the day is, “Promoting Literacy for a World in transition: Building the Foundation for Sustainable and Peaceful Societies”.

Leramoh pointed out that certificates alone cannot provide food on the table, particularly with growing unemployment in the country.

He also noted the growing number of graduates out there without formal skill, making it difficult to address unemployment.

“We are developing a policy to ensure that as we are empowering those in informal education with the opportunity to acquire skills through our various vocational centres.

“We are still introducing vocational study in the form of entrepreneurship education so that by the time some of the children come out of schools, they are coming out with skills that they can work with,” he said.

He added that the FCT has a very robust platform for both formal and nonformal education, including literacy and skills acquisition centres across the six Area council.

“Literacy initiatives in the FCT include adult education programs, community-based literacy centers and literacy for out of school children and youth, and digital literacy.

“Others are financial literacy, skill acquisition programmes, women education, nomadic adult literacy and continuing education programmes,” he said.

He explained that the ILD was being commemorated on Sept. 9 of every year to create awareness on the significance of education for all.

He added that the celebration was also to strengthen existing structures to promote education to solve societal needs as well as produce a skilled workforce for a sustainable economy.

He said that a literate person was expected to attain reading, writing, and numeric abilities to make it possible for him to continue to remain functional.

This, he said, would enable a person to contribute significantly towards his development and that of his country.

Also, Dr Sani Ladan, Director, Secondary Education Board, also said that the secretariat was working to ensure that no child leaves the school without a skill through entrepreneurship education.

“We are exposing the school children away from reading and cramming to critical, innovative, and creative thinking.

“We are given assignments on providing innovative solutions to environmental challenges and other societal problems. This will enable them to be self-reliant and contribute to nation building and development,” Ladan said.

Group photograph of government officials at the press conference to commemorate 2023 International Literacy Day

Also, Mrs Hajarat Titilayo-Alayande, Director, Department of Mass Education, said that the FCT adult education programme currently has an enrolment of more than 15,000 people.

Titilayo-Alayande added that the department has four functional Information and Communication Technology centres and 34 women centres.

She added that the department’s second chance education programme for out of school children, particularly girls, was being funded by a Non-Governmental Association for Literacy Support Services (NOGALSS).

She said that a total of 1,000 girls would be trained under the programme in FCT, adding that 50 of the girls would be trained on vocational skills.

The director also said that the department equally provides free skill acquisition training, adding that 1,400 persons were being trained on different skills every quarter.

On his part, the National President, NOGALSS, Mr Noah Emmanuel, said that the association was working with all the state agencies for mass education in the country on provision of livelihood skills.

He appealed to the FCTA to strengthen the autonomy of the department of mass education by returning it to its formal status of an agency.

“This will enable it to respond better to the dynamics of literacy,” he said. (NAN)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, has called for collective commitment to protect education from further attacks.

This is as Nigeria commemorates the international day to protect education from attacks.

Sununu was speaking in Abuja on Saturday at an event to celebrate the day with students of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The 2023 theme of the celebration is tagged:”Making schools Safe through the implementation of the Safe School policy.”

He said that by working together, the education sector could be safeguarded thereby ensuring that every learner enjoys right to education in safe and secured environment.

According to him, the theme is essential in order to sensitise relevant education stakeholders that there is guidance for implementation.

He said the commemoration serves as a reminder of the critical need to raise awareness about attacks on learners, teachers and educational institutions, particularly in regions affected by crisis and violence.

He added that there is also the need to safeguard the right to education, which often faces severe disruptions due to ongoing violence and threats.

“The theme serves as a powerful reminder of the pressing need to use the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools (NPSSVFS) and the National Minimum Standards for Safe Schools for its’ operationalisation.

” This is to ensure consistent safety standards across educational institutions for the implementation process.

“The adherence to the policy guidance during implementation will ensure emergency preparedness in case of imminent attacks on learners, educators, and educational institutions nationwide and reduce casualties,” he said.

He said the ministry would leverage on the global commemoration to raise awareness on the existence of the aforementioned implementation documents to ensure effective ways of preventing further attacks and sustain safe and secured learning environments.

He further explained that attacks on education had far-reaching consequences globally on learners’ school attendance, teachers’ stability, the quality of education, economic development and social progress.

He said attacks create an environment of fear, resulting in increased school drop-out rates, diminished enrollment and compromised educational quality.

“We are all aware that the security of students, teachers, and educational infrastructure is paramount for sustainable development in all climes.

“Within Nigeria, we cannot ignore the grave challenges posed to education in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states due to insurgency.

“The heartbreaking attack on FGC, Buni-Yadi, Yobe State, the tragic massacre of 29 students on February 24, 2014, abductions of 276 Chibok girls in April 2014 and the kidnapping of 110 girls from 655, Dapchi in 2018 stand out as poignant examples of the ongoing crisis.

“It is imperative to note that attacks on education have far-reaching implications apart from disrupting the lives of students. It also affects the future development of our nation detrimentally,”he added.

Sununu said the Federal Government government had put in place initiatives for safe learning environments and protection of learners in furtherance of protecting education from attacks and to ensure its continuity even in the face of adversity.

He listed the initiatives to include: the endorsement of Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) and launching of the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI).

Also, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo, emphasised the urgency and importance of safeguarding educational institutions while ensuring that they remain sanctuaries of knowledge and growth for the nation’s future generations.

Adejo was represented by the Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the ministry, Abubakar Isah.

He said it is therefore important to focus on the kinetic and non-kinetic means of tackling insecurity in the institutions as as well on psychological safety, especially at the lower levels.

“The importance of such a day is made more significant by the need to address the growing incidences of both physical and the unspoken of psychological and/or emotional attack on education.

“We see the physical attacks having negative impacts on our infrastructure and at other times regrettably loss of lives.

“What we often loose sight of and because it is not easily visible is the psychological and emotional attacks on education.

“This is the most dangerous because it attacks the minds, especially of our young ones,” he said.

He added that the country’s commitment to the safe school policy extends beyond safeguarding physical structures but also encompasses a commitment to promoting a culture of peace and dialogue.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria has had its own share of insecurity, resulting to the abduction of school children, especially in the northern part of the country.

Its impact can be seen in the rate of poverty in the country, increase in the number of internally displaced persons as well as increase in the rate of out-of-school children.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria