Borno SUBEB: Radio lessons have come to stay

Our Reporter

Children in Borno State will continue to benefit from radio and television lessons to bridge the learning gap created by armed conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Executive Chairman of Borno State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr. Shettima Bukar Kullima said this on Tuesday during the 2020 school Enrolment Drive Campaign in Maiduguri.

The campaign, an annual programme supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund, Norwegian Government, European Union, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, German Government and the Education Cannot Wait organisation, aim to enroll and retain out-of-school children in school.

Speaking at the event, Kullima said the 2019 campaign resulted in the enrolment of 138,000 conflict-affected children, adding that efforts are ongoing across local government areas to admit more children this year.

He said, “We started radio lessons when schools were shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the rest of the country is looking to Borno to scale up radio programming. We have moved to television scripts and this has come to stay in Borno. We will continue to improve because the impact of insurgency is great in Borno. Many of our teachers are internally displaced. The state government has shown commitment and we will continue to support it.

The Guest Speaker at the occasion, Prof. Bulama Kagu, said measures by the government and stakeholders to address the effects of the insurgency on the education sector must also address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children.

The academic, who called for an improvement in school infrastructure, added that school calendars must be flexible to accommodate the uniqueness of farming season in the northern region of the country.

READ ALSO: Borno killings: Sule advises Buhari to adopt other options to end insurgency

“Governor Babagana Zulum’s administration has done a lot in providing classrooms and offices in our schools, still more schools need expansion to cater for the ever-increasing enrolment rate. Post-COVID-19, we will witness significant resettlement of IDPs in their ancestral communities. Since most of these communities are agrarian in nature, many of them will go back to farming probably with their children regardless of the school session. Therefore, the National Council on Education should conduct feasibility studies on the flexible school calendar to target children of farmers, fishermen, pastoralists and other seasonal occupations.’’

In her remark, UNICEF Education Specialist, Robyn Savage called on stakeholders to work with families and communities to ensure the success of the campaign. We need to work with families, parents, guardians and heads of household to ensure the benefits of education are understood and promoted. Education offers protection against poverty and underdevelopment. We must leverage on the determination of the state government to ensure that every child, irrespective of their gender, social and economic status, has a chance at life and at maximising their potential,’’ she said.