The United Nations Fund for the United Nations (UNICEF), in collaboration with community leaders and the school -based management committee (SBMC), has intensified efforts to reduce the number of children outside the school in the state of Sokoto.
This commitment was reaffirmed during a visit to the SKS Model Elementary School, Yabo, established in 1922, where interested parties pledged to maintain registration and improve learning results.
The representative of the UNICEF country, Mrs. Wafa said, who directed the delegation, praised school management and SBMC for her achievements to increase registration, but expressed concern that many children still wandering the streets instead of being in the classroom.
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Representing Yabo’s traditional ruler, Mallam Abubakar, attributed the problem to poverty and bad sensitization of parents. “Many families cannot afford to keep their children at school, while some parents still lack adequate awareness of the value of education,” he said.
The president of SBMC, Maiasua Dan Sheu, explained that the committee had returned several children to school, but lamented the difficulty of maintaining them through higher education. “We have registered many in secondary schools, but most cannot proceed due to the lack of funds,” he said.
Also speaking, the community cleric Alhaji Muhammadu said that religious leaders were using Jumat sermons to campaign for early childhood education. “We constantly preach the importance of schooling, and has yielded positive results. Personally, I made sure that my children studied at university levels and mastery,” he said.
The school director, Yusuf Sharu, revealed that SKS Model Primary currently enrolls 1,045 boys and 957 girls, with learning standards significantly improved through teaching at the right level (TARL).
“Before the intervention, many students in primary 4, 5 and 6 fought to read, but now most can recognize letters, read words and even paragraphs. They have transformed classroom performance,” he explained.
It applauded UNICEF even more for providing a well that improved hygiene, access to water and agricultural projects in school. “The water project has resolved scarcity challenges, improved handwashing practices, supported menstrual hygiene and has held our school garden,” he said.
The Chief of UNICEF of the Sakoto field office, Michael Juma, said that the organization will continue to support teachers and urged the SBMC to expand its climate change initiatives, including the sowing of trees and the control of erosion.
Proud from school legacy, community leaders recalled that SKS Model Primary had produced more than 30 professors and prominent figures since their establishment more than a century ago.
The representative of the UNICEF country said that this legacy demonstrates the power of education. “When Nigerian children have access to learning, they not only raise their communities; they contribute to Africa and the world in general,” he emphasized.
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