The Save the Children (SCI), in Nigeria, has called on the Federal Government to use the occasion of the International Day of Education to increase funding of education to promote inclusiveness and equitable quality education as it would reinvigorate Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).
Save the Children said the occasion should also serve as a reminder, to the Federal Government, to commit itself to President, Muhammadu Buhari, pledge at the Global Education Summit (GPE).
In a statement signed by Kunle Olawoyin, Media and Communication Manager Save the Children International Nigeria, the government should fund education by 14 per cent in the 2022 fiscal year.
Country Director, Save the Children International (SCI) Nigeria, Ms Mercy Gichuhi, said, “Children constitute a great number of the world population and they are the future of the society.
She maintained that the worst option was to see a generation of children and young people who lack the skills they need to compete in the 21st-century economy or leave behind half of humanity.
Gichuchi maintained that the prize of non-providing the necessary skills to the leaders of tomorrow is a catastrophe.”
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Save the Children recommended the incorporation of technology in education that is inclusive, prioritises the girl child to ensure no one is left behind in the race to agenda 2030. We ask that teachers be recognised and be provided with professional support so that they can bring innovation to learning.
The statement reads in part: “It requires the Nigerian government’s fulfilment of the commitment H.E. President Muhammadu Buhari made at the Global Education Summit (GPE) (2021) to increase education funding to 14 per cent by 2022, 16.7 per cent in 2023, 20 per cent by 2024, and 22.5 per cent by 2025.
“Education is no doubt at the heart of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. It is a singular act that is needed to reduce inequalities (Goal 10), reverse cycles of intergenerational poverty (Goal 1), and improve health (Goal 3) as well as the vehicle to achieve gender equality and eliminate child marriage (Goal 5).
“It is high time the government and all stakeholders prioritise education as a public good; support it with cooperation, partnerships, and funding; and recognize that leaving no one behind starts with education.
“Save the Children’s report on education (2017) in Borno State “Turning Education Around: Responding to the Crisis in Borno State” revealed that one of the key drivers of the conflict in Borno was the pre-existing crisis in education.
Over the years, especially in northeast Nigeria, schools cannot cater to the high demands of out-of-school children due to lack of adequate funds, technical capacity, and loss of infrastructure, materials, and teachers’ lives because of insurgency.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a pre-existing education crisis while reliance on digital technology for learning has deepened exclusion and gender inequalities. There are more children out-of-school now in North-East Nigeria than before the insurgency.
“In some other parts of Nigeria, schools do not have the technical capacity to support physically challenged, marginalised, or minority children. Funding remains a challenge to the education system across the board.”
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SCI urges FG to raise education funding to 14 per cent in 2020