Biodun Esan, Ilorin Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara has underscored the need for access to quality education for millions of chil...
Biodun Esan, Ilorin
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara has underscored the need for access to quality education for millions of children in need of it for the international community, including donor agencies and development partners.
AbdulRazaq said this at an event on the sidelines of the 2023 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
This is contained in a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye on Thursday in Ilorin.
“AbdulRazaq explained that his administration has invested billions of naira in school infrastructure and the introduction of technology to promote good teaching techniques, accountability, and effective learning which empowers the children to be at par with their peers in other climes.
“What we have done has empowered teachers to adhere to curriculum standards, help the children to learn, reduce absenteeism, and raise school enrollment amid rising standards,” he said.
Organized by Devex Event and New Globe, the theme of the event was: “Addressing Africa’s Learning Crisis and Preparing for a Young Future: Finding Solutions.”
The Governor spoke alongside the president and co-founder of New Globe Shannon May; the executive director of Education Cannot Wait, an initiative of the United Nations, Yasmine Sherif.
Others who spoke were the editorial director of Devex Richard Jones; senior fellow and deputy director of Centre for Universal Education, Brookings Institution, Jennifer O’donoghue; senior fellow at Stanford University Eric Hanushek; and executive director- of Africa CAMFED Shungu Gwarinda; among many others.
The Governor said a well-funded education sector also holds the key to improvements across many other sectors like health, water, rural-urban development, and food security.
The Governor added that data mined from schools can help governments to make informed decisions, and plan and deploy scarce resources.
“We have improved public school enrollment by some 48.7 percent at a basic level, while the introduction of technology has empowered our teachers and children alike,” AbdulRazaq added.
AbdulRazaq, however, said that funding remained a big challenge in achieving the goal.
He explained that learning deprivation in Kwara public schools has reduced from 70.8 percent to 51.6 percent within a space of 40 weeks of introducing the new program; tagged KwaraLEARN.
Speaking, the Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, an initiative of the United Nations, Yasmine Sherif Yasmine commended what the Governor has done in Kwara.
Yasmine said she had rightly called for a need to jointly fund education and promote inclusion “an urgency of now” especially in the deployment of resources to deepen functional education.
Yasmine said such urgency should not affect the quality of education as well as the scope of the target.
According to her, the UN is mobilizing at least $1.5 billion in funds to give quality education to some 120 million out-of-school children in distressed parts of the world.
Yasmine said she would soon lead a team to Nigeria as part of the global campaign for the education rights of young children, adding that Kwara would be on their radar during such via sit.
NewGlobe co-founder Shannon May said she was impressed at the vision of AbdulRazaq to transform public schools in Kwara State, urging other states and leaders in Africa to deploy the same resources and energy to the same cause.
She commended the progress so far made in Kwara State and a few other Nigerian states.
May added that such improvements had been made possible through political will and reliance on data-based strategies to drive inclusive education and great learning outcomes for young people.
END
No comments