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The Katsina State Government and UNICEF Kano Field office, have began a stakeholders’ engagement to revive 450 Community Learning Hubs in nine frontline Local Government Areas, LGAs, severely affected by banditry and insecurity.
UNICEF Focal Person at the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Hajiya Maijiadda Kai-Kai, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Katsina.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the frontline LGAs are Jibia, Batsari, Safana, Danmusa, Dandume, Sabuwa, Faskari, Kankara, and Bakori.
She said the initiative aimed at providing learning opportunities for children affected by insecurity, displacement and other barriers to access to formal education.
Kai-Kai said stakeholders’ sensitisation was being conducted simultaneously across the nine affected LGAs to mobilise communities and assess the condition of the established learning hubs.
She said the exercise is also aimed at determining whether the hubs remained functional and ensuring that the solar-powered radio sets earlier distributed to learners were still available.
The UNICEF focal person said that missing radio sets identified during the exercise would be replaced to ensure that vulnerable children continued to benefit from the programme.
Kai-Kai said at least 50 Community Learning Hubs had earlier been established in each of the nine frontline LGAs.
She said the hubs were designed to give vulnerable and out-of-school children access to broadcast radio learning programmes and other remote educational resources.
NAN reports that in June 2024, 2,960 solar-powered radio devices were supplied to Katsina, but 1,000 distributed to provide alternative learning opportunities for displaced children.
“The radio distribution formed part of a broader education strategy implemented by UNICEF in collaboration with the state government to improve access to education and strengthen learning outcomes.
“The community learning hubs serve as community-based spaces where children, adolescents and other learners can access basic education, literacy, numeracy, skills development and learning support, particularly in underserved and hard-to-reach communities.
“The revival of the hubs is expected to expand learning opportunities for children who are out of school or have limited access to conventional classrooms due to insecurity, displacement and other challenges,” she said.
According to her, the hubs also provide safe spaces for learning, support literacy and numeracy programmes, encourage community participation in education and offer additional support to learners affected by conflict and displacement.
Under the radio learning component, she explained that structured lessons are broadcast to learners who can listen individually at home or gather at the community hubs.
“The radio lessons can be complemented with printed learning materials and activities, while facilitators at the hubs provide additional guidance to learners.
“The programmes may also include interactive sessions, questions, discussions and feedback mechanisms to enhance learners’ participation and understanding,” she said.
Kai-Kai noted that the approach is expected to enable children affected by insecurity, displacement, distance and other barriers to continue learning without relying entirely on physical attendance in conventional schools.
During the sensitisation exercise across selected LGAs, the stakeholders assured the necessary support towards the success of the initiative in their respective communities.
NAN
