UNICEF gives technical support to Kogi on education

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has provided technical support to the government of Kogi on strategic planning in its education sector.

Mrs Seyi Agunbiade, a UNICEF Consultant, disclosed this to journalists after a meeting with the State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Rosemary Osikoya, on Monday in Lokoja.

She said that the UNICEF technical support to the state would help in developing a plan for its future educational goals.

She added that the plan could be utilised for budget preparation and also enable the state the support of international donors.

”When there is a plan in place, we can be sure that the goals and aspirations of the Kogi education sector would be met as conceived by the ministry.

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”In the bids for Nigeria to achieve the SDGs, we are ensuring that no state is left behind in keying into the core strategic areas.

”There are seven thematic areas, collapsed into five for efficiency that cut across all sub-sectors in education from primary to tertiary with other relevant ministries.

”When there is a sector plan, any development partner can come around to give aid and help the states achieve their goals,” Agunbiade said.

The consultant commended the commissioner for putting the state’s education sector on the right track while advising the state to continue on that path to ensure that everything put in place was achieved.

In her remarks, the Commissioner, commended the UNICEF for the support, saying the agency had also donated materials for the state’s 2019 Annual School Census.

”It keeps getting better every day in Kogi State, and I think the reward of all our labour and particularly all the engagements behind the scene is part of what you are seeing now,” Osikoya said.

She stressed that the Education Summit held by the state in January 2018, was yielding the desired results to strengthen institutional and policy framework, and capacity building.

She said that the 2019 state’s budget for education was totally different from the previous budgets, saying Gov. Yahaya Bello had provided realistic budgets that actually addressed key activities.

‘“If these key activities are addressed, it will take care of Kogi education sector and ensure sustainable development.

”So, we could see that the value of the support that the UNICEF has given to us is measurable in terms of both tangible and intangible terms.

”An activity that should have cost the state over N10 million is what UNICEF has helped in providing for us.

”I am happy and satisfied with the team of consultants that the UNICEF has sent to us,” the commissioner said.