Katsina State Government has earmarked N1.49 billion intervention fund to facilitate access to basic education for Out-of-school-children (OOSC) across the state, the chairman of the state Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Lawal Bahari, has disclosed.
The chairman, represented by Alhaji Aliyu Abdullahi Batsari, made this known during the launch of Educate a Child Project hosted by the state’s Ministry of Education in collaboration with UNICEF in Katsina.
Butsari said the fund will further boost ongoing governmental expenditures and activities of international development partners towards the Educate a Child project in the next four years.
He said plans are afoot for the Board and other stakeholders to ensure prompt release of money and judicious utilization of the project.
The SUBEB boss noted that despite Katsina’s 1,488,870 pupil population this academic year, the government would carry out programmes designed to promote the school enrolment and girl child education.
On his part, the state’s Commissioner for Education, Prof. Halimatu Sa’adiyya Idris, represented by Director (Quality Assurance) in the ministry, Alhaji Dauda Audi, said the project runs in five states of Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara and Bauchi in partnership with Qatar Foundation and UNICEF.
She explained that the project being implemented in three local government areas of Katsina which includes, Kafur, Safana and Mani is aimed at identifying the out-of-school-children with a view of getting them back to school.
Speaking at the event, UNICEF Education Specialist, Muntaka Mukhtar, said the major components of the project include community mobilization, promoting school effectiveness through improving infrastructure and capacity of teachers in basic education schools / Integrated Quranic Schools (IQS) and improving access for the out-of-school-children.
The International development partners and the five benefiting states will commit about 71 million dollars to the project by 2020.
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