Bridge Nigeria advocates inclusion for every child

By Chinelo Obogo

In commemorating this year’s World Children’s Day with the theme ‘Inclusion, for every child’, Bridge International Academies, the world’s largest operator of technology-enabled schools serving families and governments in emerging markets joined the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in advocating for an inclusive world for children.

Speaking on World Children’s Day, the Managing Director of Bridge International Academies Nigeria, Foyinsola Akinjayeju said: “The theme for this year’s World Children’s Day goes to the heart of what we do here at Bridge – providing access to quality education, which is the right of every child. Our community schools are places of equal opportunity for every child and promote equity across gender, household income and family circumstances among other factors.

“Our mission at Bridge – to provide millions of children with life-changing education, drives what we do, so that children have the platform and the support to break out of generational limitations, and are set on a pathway to a brighter and more prosperous future, beyond what their parents achieved. That to us is inclusion. It is why schools should exist, that is to assist children to fulfil their potential and to give them a chance at an economically-secure future even if they were born into disadvantaged situations. Since 2015 when we opened our first schools in Nigeria, we have leveraged technology to drive standardised and effective teaching and also adopt a holistic methodology comprising the robust use of data, adaptive lessons/content and continuous monitoring for improvement.

According to a report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), as of October 2022, about 20 million children are out of school in Nigeria. Akinjayeju said: “This report tells us that there is a lot of work to be done and that is why we are calling for collective action to put children back to school. One way to achieve this is through scholarship and sponsorship programmes for willing pupils whose parents, due to financial difficulty, cannot send their children to school. Individuals and corporates can learn more about what Bridge is doing in this regard and how they can partner to put children in school by visiting our website.”