The European Union through its newly launched Education and Youth Empowerment in the Northwest part of Nigeria programme has decided to ensure the return of 500,000 out-of-school children back to school.
The Ambassador of the European Union Delegation in Nigeria and to ECOWAS, Ms Samuela Isopi, stated this on Wednesday while addressing newsmen shortly after meeting Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto State on some of the intervention process of the program.
The program which is being sponsored by the European Union in conjunction with its implementing partners, UNICEF, is targeting to ensure adequate reduction in the number of out-of-school children in the state.
“We appreciate the efforts of the federal government and the state government to tackle the many issues that affect this part of the country.
“Despite the efforts, we realized that education in this part of the country is still lagging compared to other part of the country.
“That is why we have decided to join our partners including the state government and the UNICEF to support education in Sokoto State.
“This program is a program of 40 million Euros and it involves three states in the Northwest which includes Sokoto, Kano and Jigawa States.
“We hope that together with the government and UNICEF, we will make a difference in supporting, particularly the out-of-school children.
“We know the level of out-of-school children in this part of the country is very high and we want to support them.
“It is going to give a special focus on girls’ education, as we all know, girls are the most vulnerable in society, a specific portion will be dedicated to them in the program.
“We will also work with the government to support its education system as well as teachers”
“We will also support the communities and their families in providing a good environment for the children to benefit from the education ”
She further said the program will also support adult who due to one or two challenges dropped out of school to have the opportunity to complete their education.
She said such an opportunity will afford them great opportunities in the future to find a job they so desire.
While using the rare opportunity to announce to the government and the people of the state that the European Union is fully back in the state after many years of absence.
She said the education program is the flagship of numerous unions which include health, and social services among others.
She however commended Governor Ahmed Aliyu as well as the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad Abubakar for their support to both the European Union and Unicef.
Speaking in his remarks, the Sokoto State governor, Ahmed Aliyu, described the efforts of the European Union as not only timely but also very important.
“When we started this journey, one of our nine points smart agenda was to improve the education of our wards, when we resumed office, what we met on the ground was very bad.
“We had started with the renovation of many school structures and even commissioned some of them during my 100 days in office.
“You are very much aware that the issue of banditry affecting community across North West has affected our school program.
“This is one of the reasons which made us, the Northwest governors come up with the Community Guard Corps which is aimed at combating insecurity in the region.
“We also as part of a measure to tackle education deficiency in the state, gave the education sector, a larger percentage of the 2024 budget. We have trained a sizeable of our youth on some of what they can do apart from Western education.
“I assure you and everyone that we will support you in the delivery of your mandate and promise to our people”
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