United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (KADSUBEB), has enrolled over 1,000 out-of-school children in a hard-to-reach Farar Kasa community of Soba local government area of the state.
The partnership is also set to establish a new primary school in the agrarian community, while an adult education programme will be established for those above school age.
Speaking during the distribution of uniforms and writing materials to the enrolled pupils ahead of the new academic session beginning in September, UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Kaduna, Dr. Gerifa Birukila said, the closest primary school to the community is 12 kilometres away.
Noting that, distance had denied the community children access to school, the UNICEF boss said: “A few months ago when we came here for a medical outreach, we discovered that a lot of children who should have been in school, were roaming about and when we asked, we were told that, the community does not have a school, even though they would like to send their children to school.
“So, we took their request to Kaduna State SUBEB and we discussed the possibility of bringing a school here and here we are today, gay is going to happen.
“This community is hard to reach. So, it is isolated in terms of health, education, and others. It is one of the communities that are disadvantaged because of their location. We are very happy that the children will now go to school and thus I will reduce the number of out-of-school children in Kaduna State,” she said.
The UNICEF boss however called on the community to take ownership of the school project and ensure the children go to school.
She also promised that the Farar Kasa community would be provided with potable borehole water and a medical facility, while adult education would be provided for the locals above school age.
Chairman of SUBEB, Alhaji Tijjani Abdullahi commended UNICEF for its consistency with Kaduna State in the areas of education and healthcare delivery.
He said SUBEB was currently implementing its 2023/2924 projects with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), hoping that, by December, funds will be available for the construction of the school’s permanent structure to take off in January 2025.
Abdullahi said Kaduna SUBEB had in the last four years built over 2,000 schools. “Now, we are going to access our UBEC funds for 2024, and we have promised this community that, we are g ppl big to build some classrooms here.
“I have also spoken to the local government chairman because the local government employs teachers for the primary schools, so we are already making arrangements for the teachers that will teach in the school. They will start teaching in the temporary school facility that was provided by the community,” he said.
