Rakiya A.Muhammad
Country Director Action Aid Nigeria Ene Obi has stressed the need to prioritise the review and accent of Sokoto State’s inclusive education policy to address the plight of children with disabilities.
She also stressed the need to address other barriers, such as the infrastructural gap and strengthen mechanisms to curb sexual and gender-based violence in schools.
The Action Aid Nigeria chief spoke in Sokoto at the validation and close-out meeting of the Tax Justice and Gender Responsive Public Services (Breaking Barriers) project.
The project aimed at ensuring all children, especially girls and the marginalised children, have access to free, quality, publicly funded, inclusive public education.
In 2018, Action Aid Nigeria secured four-year funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD) to implement a multi-country project in Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Nigeria under the partnership agreement with Action Aid International.
ActionAid Nigeria collaborated with their partner, Rural Women and Youth Development Organization (RUWOYD), to implement the Breaking Barrier Project In Sokoto State across three local government areas- Sokoto South, Binji and Tambuwal.
“Working with various stakeholders, the project sought to address some of the key barriers that prevent children, especially girls and vulnerable children, from enjoying their right to free, quality and inclusive public education,” the Country Director disclosed.
“Some of the barriers focused on are discrimination, inadequate financing, and proliferation of private low-cost schools.”
She recalled that the project engaged different stakeholders for four years to address the barriers that affect children’s access to free, quality, publicly funded inclusive education.
The Country Director, represented by Action Aid Nigeria Education Project Coordinator Kyauta Giwa, said the project also supported advocacy initiatives to influence government policies, including drafting the state inclusive education policy that responds to the needs of girls and other marginalised children.
“In addition, the project provided training,awareness-raising and supported children during the COVID-19 pandemic. About 6065 girls and 410 boys, including those with disabilities, have been reached through various activities.”
She appreciated the Sokoto State Government and other stakeholders for enabling the successful project implementation.
According to her, the efforts showed commitment to contributing to SDG4 achievement and ensuring ‘no child is left behind.’
She, however, hoped that the government would sustain the project’s gains to ensure children access free, quality, inclusive, and publicly-funded education.
In a goodwill message, the Commissioner of Basic and Secondary Education, represented by the Director-General, Female Education board, Hajiya Luba Abubakar, lauded the Breaking Barrier project for its contributions to improving the sector.
Executive Chairman, Sokoto Internal Revenue Service Alhaji Aminu Zurmi said they had improved the revenue profile of the Sokoto State government, culminating in financing some of the development projects, including education of the girl-child and persons with special needs.
He lauded ActionAid for bridging some gaps that existed before the last four years.
District Head of Gagi Alhaji Sani Umar Jabi described the breaking barrier project as a worthy initiative.
He commended the state government for enabling partners and different organisations to operate in the state.
The traditional leader appealed to the state government to sustain the momentum and scale the initiative to other local government areas.
In an overview of the project, Executive Director RUWOYD Abdu Yusufu, represented by the Programme Manager Halima Muhammad applauded all stakeholders for their support of the successful implementation of the project.
He noted the project’s achievements to include drafting an Inclusive Education Policy to be domesticated in Sokoto State and the consultation/engagement of stakeholders in Sokoto state on the need to review outdated tax laws and identify possible areas of internal revenue generation.
The RUWOYD helmsman added the project increased the capacity of School-Based Management Committee members to demand inclusive education and increased the capacity of NUT members in advocating for improved teachers’ welfare and supporting teachers in hard-to-reach areas with mobility.
He believes barriers to education could be eradicated through building a solid evidence base to raise awareness and inform policy, supporting an active movement of civil society groups to achieve structural reforms in public policy and ensuring sustainable financing of teacher salaries and the reversal of privatisation of education.
