*Speaker declares state of emergency
By; ALEX UANGBAOJE, Kaduna
United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF at the weekend signed a contribution commitment agreement with the Jigawa State House of Assembly as part of measures to reduce the rate of out of school children in the state, just as the Speaker, Honourable Haruna Dangyatum has declared state of emergency.
The commitment agreement would enable the legislators to contribute and support education development and enrollment in their various constituencies.
Speaking in Kaduna at a meeting organised by the Jigawa State Basic Education Board (SUBEB), supported by UNICEF, Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Haruna Dangyatum, vowed that the legislators would fulfill every bit of the commitment they have signed.
According to him, “all the commitments we have signed, we are going to implement them, and we have declared a state of emergency on out of school in our state.
“We are going back to our constituencies to meet with all the stakeholders to find a lasting solution and a way forward to reduce this out of school children menace drastically even if it will take us sponsoring the children, we will do so.”
Speaker, stated that part of their move to reduce the rate of Out of School was the enactment of the Jigawa State Tsangaya Education Board Law (JSTEB), which he believes would help.
Mr Mohammed Farah, Chief of UNICEF Field Office Kano, congratulated the Assembly for the bold steps taken so far expressing hope that with their commitment the trend of out of school children in the State can be reversed.
He commended them for amongst other steps, passing into law bills that would help improve education in the State by increasing enrollment and improve both learning and teaching outcomes.
Notable among them, was the passing of the Jigawa State Education Quality Assurance Agency Law (JISEQAA)
Jigawa State Senior Secondary Education Board Law (JISSEB).
Jigawa State Tsangaya Education Board Law (JSTEB)
Jigawa State Education Resource Agency Law (JERA) and Teacher Recruitment, Replacement and Deployment Policy.
“These are great initiatives that will support our joint efforts for an equitable access to quality basic education and ensuring children are learning in schools.” He said.
Earlier in his remarks, Mr Farah, highlighted some of the challenges the Education sector in the State is facing.
“Jigawa State faces the burden of a high number out of school children as well as a low foundational learning:
“According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2021, Nearly 44 percent of primary school age children are out of school in Jigawa. Thus Jigawa state becomes Number 8 on the table of states with the highest number of Out of school children.
“This rate is higher for children at lower secondary school age, with 52 per cent of children are out of school. School attendance among children of primary school age stands at nearly 54 percent, which demonstrate low retention rates and high risk of drop out for children at JSS.
“It is also observed that only 16.4 percent of children have access to early childhood education.
Hon Speaker, distinguished participants, these figures are staggering. However, I am optimistic that with your support, the Government of Jigawa state and its partners can reverse this trend.” The UNICEF Chief added.
Mr Farah, further explained that “The other challenge that the Education Sector Jigawa state faces is the issue of the Quality of Learning children enrolled in schools receive. Children are enrolled in school but are they learning? The data answer in the negative for a high percentage of them.
“The ability to read and understand a simple text is one of the most fundamental skills a child should learn. Acquiring literacy in the early grades of primary is crucial because doing so becomes more difficult in later grades, for those who are lagging.
*Regrettably, the 2021 MICS shows only 2 percent of children aged 7-14 were able to demonstrate foundational reading skills in Jigawa state. Similarly, the percentage of children aged 7-14 years who demonstrate foundational numeracy skills is less than 1% percent.”
He congratulated the state for the creation of Ministries of Basic Education and Higher Education respectively, with clarity on their respective mandates, noting that UNICEF will continue to prioritize the reduction of out of school children, the provision of innovative approaches to improving quality learning especially at foundational levels.
Prof. Haruna Adamu, the Chairman of the SUBEB, said the board would follow up on the commitment by the legislators to address the problem.
According to Adamu, the board has a good working relationship with the legislature, adding that, “we will give a close monitoring to ensure each member obey the directive.”
