UNICEF’s Teaching at the Right Level programme in Borno State, has provided basic literacy and numeracy education to around 285,000 vulnerable children and orphans of the Boko Haram conflict over the past three years.
The Foreign Commonwealth Development Office of the British government provided funding for the project.
The initiative, which is in its third year, according to UNICEF, aims to give children—especially females, those with disabilities, and those impacted by conflict—access to safe, inclusive, and high-quality education.
On Tuesday, the Education Officer, UNICEF Maiduguri Field Office, Mustapha Shehu, led reporters around some of the beneficiary schools to commemorate the International Day of Education.
Mustapha said:
“The initiative underscores a comprehensive approach to addressing the educational challenges posed by conflict, specifically emphasising inclusivity and quality learning for vulnerable children.
“The TaRL pedagogy is learner-friendly and increases enrolment, attendance and retention of pupils at school.”
According to him, 2,800 instructors in Maiduguri, Jere, and Konduga received training in the TaRL style of teaching. Each teacher instructed around 50 students for two hours each day in organised open areas outside of traditional classroom settings to facilitate rapid learning.
Among the 140 schools in Borno State that receive help, the head teacher of Mohammed Aji Goni Laminu Primary School in the Jere Local Government Areas, Ngari Bukar, stated, “Over 50 per cent of the benefitting children are orphans whose parents were killed by the Boko Haram insurgents.”
cc: Punch Ng
