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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
Civil society organisations and media representatives in Kaduna State have joined forces to address the state’s pressing education challenges, including teacher shortages, out-of-school children and weak accountability.
Under the auspices of the Beta Nigeria Education Campaign, stakeholders conducted advocacy visits to the State Universal Basic Education Board and the Ministry of Human Services and Social Development to secure partnerships and refine campaign messaging. This move aimed at laying the groundwork for impactful education reforms in Kaduna State.
Participants identified key barriers to addressing teacher shortages, including low teacher incentives, inadequate housing and political interference in recruitment. To address these challenges, recommendations included incentivising rural teacher deployment, improving inclusive education training and engaging Local Government Chairmen to enhance accountability.
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Chairman of the Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD) in Kaduna State, Suleiman Abdulazeez, and representative of the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education For All, Henry Michael, advocated for inclusive policies and government accountability to address education challenges.
According to them, Beta Nigeria unveiled plans for a media and communications strategy to amplify advocacy efforts through traditional and digital platforms. They added that community influencers have created social media content to raise awareness, and a WhatsApp influencer network has been established to sustain engagement and collaboration.
Speaking on the sideline of the visits, an academic scholar and voice for persons with disabilities in the State, Dr Micah Shafi, proposed holistic awareness campaigns targeting families to improve the perception of education. He also recommended revising the curriculum to incorporate relevant skill sets for employability.
The advocacy visits were a follow-up to a roundtable discussion organised by Beta Nigeria on 5-6 December 2024, which brought together stakeholders to discuss actionable solutions to systemic challenges in the Kaduna State education sector.
