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1 million textbooks delivered to children in Northern Nigeria

Por Boco Edet Abdul

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Caption: Governor of Bauchi State Mohammed Abubakar presents the Northern Education Initiative textbooks to a student during the kickoff event. Photo by Boco Edet Abdul. — Governor of Bauchi State Mohammed Abubakar presents the Northern Education Initiative textbooks to a student during the kickoff event. Photo by Boco Edet Abdul.

BAUCHI - Mais do que 200 elected officials and community leaders kicked off the distribution of 1 million textbooks developed by the Iniciativa de Educação do Norte Plus to children in the this northern state.

Iniciativa de Educação do Norte Plus, a project supported by the U.S. Agência para o Desenvolvimento Internacional, distributed books to more than 1,750 primary schools and 400 centros de aprendizagem não formal. The event also launched a program on improve the early grade teaching methodology for 6,000 professores.

Bauchi Gov. Mohammed Abubakar told attendees: “Our goal is to use education to reduce poverty, illiteracy and improve access to information translating all these to tools for peaceful coexistence and harmonious relationships in our state.”

Bauchi state is making renewed investments towards the education sector. It recently accessed a $5 million fund from the federal government to improve basic education in the state. Em 2016, the state allocated 20 percent of its annual budget to education.

Gov. Abdullahi commended the Iniciativa de Educação do Norte Plus for improving the capacity of the Ministry of Education, agencies and local government authorities to address barriers to school participation in the state.

“This project has given us the impetus to meet our goal of improving quality and standard of education,” Gov. Abdullahi said.

James Statman, who leads the Northern Education Initiative Plus program, highlighted the close collaboration of everyone involved in early grade reading program.

“We rely on Bauchi state to continue to provide the leadership and expertise to drive this project. We want children to learn to read so they stay longer in school translating to better lives for themselves,” Statman said.

Teacher professional development

A teacher from Tudunwada Primary School, Toro local government area in Bauchi state, learns new methods to teach reading through the Early Grade Reading training program. Photo by Boco Edet Abdul.

As part of a multi-level training program in Bauchi state, 18 leading education experts called “Master Trainers” have trained 220 school managers as “Trainers-of-Teachers,” who in turn are now preparing and supporting teachers to implement the early grade reading program in schools.

In the non-formal learning centers, 10 Master Trainers have trained 80 Mentor Facilitators to coach and mentor 400 learning facilitators to deliver a learner-friendly curriculum to children.

Teacher professional development is a priority of the government of Bauchi state.

Chairman of the Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board, Prof. Yahya Yero, applauds the program’s focus on building the skills of teachers.

“No education system can rise above the quality of its teachers and this invariably affects the performance of its pupils and students. The Northern Education Initiative Plus investment in teachers is very timely,” said Yero.

Global approach to reading

The inability of children to read and write in their mother tongue is a global problem. Early Grade Reading Assessments conducted in Northern Nigeria in 2014 showed that in Bauchi 84 percent of children in third grade could not read a single word in Hausa.

The Northern Education Initiative Plus aims to address this challenge in Bauchi state with its early grade reading program by teaching children to read early while building their socio-emotional and cognitive skills.

Senior Reading Specialist of the Initiative, Joy du Plessis, emphasized the need for early grade reading.

“Learning to read at an early age is one of the great equalizers,"ela disse. “With good teachers and materials and support to parents, even those who are unable to read and write, all children have a better chance at being successful in school, not just children from well-off families who may have books at home and promote reading to their children.”

World-class teaching and learning materials

The new reading textbooks will be distributed to more than 1,750 primary schools and 400 centros de aprendizagem não formal. Foto de David Snyder.

The Northern Education Initiative Plus developed Vamos ler! (Vamos ler!) materiais baseados nas melhores práticas globais para ensinar as crianças a aprender a ler nas séries iniciais.

The materials were developed by more than 100 local experts from Bauchi and Sokoto states’ University and Colleges of Education, State Universal Basic Education Boards, Ministério Federal da Educação, Conselho Nigeriano de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Educacional, National Commission for Colleges of Education supported by globally recognized international reading experts from the Northern Education Initiative Plus.

O Vamos ler! materials have been edited by Nigeria’s best Hausa and English experts to ensure that Standard Hausa is used, language use is correct, and that the materials are embedded in the local culture and traditions. They are reviewed and validated in Bauchi state by a wide range of stakeholders.

“They were also produced at a cost that is affordable for the state, without sacrificing quality,” said du Plessis. “Working with relevant authorities and community structures, the Initiative is also helping to train parents on how they can support their child’s reading at home, get them to school every day and on time and support the school and community in promoting a reading culture.”

Os cinco anos, Nigerian government-led Northern Education Initiative Plus is funded by the U.S Agency for International Development and aims to improve reading outcomes of more than 2 milhões de alunos do ensino primário em 6,868 escolas e 11,129 centros de aprendizagem não formal.

The program is implemented by Creative Associates International.

Partnering with Creative are three U.S.-based international organizations—Education Development Center (EDC), Universidade Estadual da Flórida (FSU), Consultoria Estratégica no Exterior (OSC)—and four local organizations—Value Minds, Association for Education Development Options (AEDO), Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA) and the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN).[/vc_column_text][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/12″][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar barra lateral_id=”barra lateral primária”][list_category_posts_widget title=”Histórias Relacionadas:” gato_cur=”sim” pedido_por=”data” número de postagens =”3″ trecho=”sim” tamanho_do_excerto=”15″][/vc_coluna][/vc_row]