Window-3 of the Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) a program funded by Save The Children in collaboration with Community Support and Development Initiatives (CSADI) has organized a town hall meeting to discuss the menace of out of school children in Ajingi local government area of Kano state.
The PLANE programme is aimed at equipping more children especially from rural communities with skills to be able to transition to more productive life opportunities.
The program is currently taking place in Three state namely Kano with three local government Ajingi, Makoda and Minjibir, in Jigawa state, the local council are Malam Madori and Babura while in Kaduna state Kauri and Soba remained implementing areas.
In an interview with GLOBAL TRACKER, the Education officer of CSADI in Ajingi Umar Daudu Suleiman said the program targeted children from 6 to 13 years and training them on educational skills for them to be literate and be able to read and write.
“We have divided that in two groups, we havs Literacy and Numeracy Boost Club (this is a class which involved children from 6 to 9 years, and we teach this children how to make small numeric calculate and be able to read and write) and we have Catch-up Club (here we teach children how to read and write by the use of skills and play and it involved children from 9 to 13 years),” said Umar Daudu.
“We are working in 8 wards namely Ajingi, Gafasa, Dun-Dun, Chula, Unguwar Bai, Gurduba, Kukarawa and Toranke. At each Ward we have 8 communities and each community we have 6 centres and now each center has 50 students,” he said.
“This two years of activities, we have graduated four thousand eight hundred and ninety (4,890) children, and we are currently teaching 3,080 students in both the clubs after which they will be enrolled back to regular primary and secondary schools in the state, this are all out of school children before,” he said.
He commended Save The Children and PLANE for partnering CSADI on the implementation of the program which according to him has reduced to the barest minimum, the number of out of school children in Ajingi local government area.
Also, speaking to journalist, CSADI’s house and economic strengthening officer in Ajingi Nabila Ibrahim said after children were selected their mother will also undergoing training on Village Savings and Loans associations so that they will support their children’s education and improve their businesses making them self reliance.
“Our investigation has showed that poverty remained one of the key challenge stalling children going to schools, so this women are not selected anyhow, they are the mothers of this children that was enrolled in both catch-up and literacy and numeracy group,” said Nabila.
According to her a specific instructions and laws was set aside so that they can help themselves in generating capital, as well as collecting loans from the capital and improve their businesses.
In a remark, the chairman of Ajingi local government area professor Abdulhadi Zubairu Chula represented by Education secretary of the area Umar Ismail said the local government council has set up committee to revived educational system with a view to complement Kano state government efforts.
According to him, tagged “Education Committee” which involved all stakeholders on education ranging from retired education officer, Parents Teachers Association (PTA), School Based Management Committee (SBMC), students Union and all stakeholders who is saddled with responsibility of reviving the sector in the area.
He advised for the state government to prioritize training and retraining of teachers as well as employment of new once to fill the missing, adding that understaffing remained one of the key threatening educational sector in the state.
In an interview with journalist, the chief Imam of Ajingi local government Abdullahi Bello and the Ward head of Ajingi Abubakar Bello assured that their commitment of sensitizing communities from across the area in an efforts to take ownership of education in local communities.
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The dua street the need for parents and caregivers in Ajingi that strengthening education is every one business and people need to contributes their quota in achieving the set objectives.
Two of the benefiting students Abdulhakim Hamisu and Fatima Jafar commended Save The Children, PLANE and CSADI for their commitment in uplifting their life’s assuring that they will concentrate fully in their educational carrier.