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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (KADSUBEB) on Monday planted a new primary school in the Farar Kasa community, Soba Local Government Area of the State to take care of the basic education needs of about 1,000 children who have never been to school.
The partners believed that the development would reduce the alarming rate of out-of-school children in the area, with the hope of a second chance for those above school age.
Speaking during the distribution of uniforms and writing materials to the enrolled pupils ahead of the new academic session beginning in September, UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Kaduna, Dr. Gerifa Birukila, it became necessary to establish the primary school because the nearest school is about 12 kilometers thereby limiting school-age children to pursue primary education.
“A few months ago, we came here for a medical outreach, and discovered that a lot of children who should have been in school were roaming about and when we asked, we were told that the community does not have a school, even though they would like to send their children to school.
“So, we took their request to Kaduna State SUBEB and we discussed the possibility of bringing a school here and here we are today, gay is going to happen.
“This community is hard-to-reach. So, it is isolated in terms of health, education, and others. It is one of the communities that are disadvantaged because of their location. We are very happy that the children will now go to school and thus I will definitely reduce the number of out-of-school children in Kaduna State,” she said.
The UNICEF boss however called on the community to take ownership of the school project and ensure the children go to school.
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Chairman of SUBEB, Alhaji Tijjani Abdullahi commended UNICEF for its consistent support to Kaduna State in the areas of education and healthcare delivery.
He said SUBEB was currently implementing its 2023/2924 projects with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), hoping that, by December, funds will be available for the construction of the school’s permanent structure to take off in January 2025.
Abdullahi said Kaduna SUBEB had in the last four years built over 2,000 schools. “Now, we are going to access our UBEC funds for 2024, and we have promised this community that, we are g ppl big to build some classrooms here.
“I have also spoken to the Local Government Chairman because the local government employs teachers for the primary schools, so we are already making arrangements for the teachers that will teach in the school. They will start teaching in the temporary school facility that was provided by the community,” he said.
The Chairman Soba Local Government Area, Hon. Abdulmumini Bawa Gamagira thanked UNICEF and KADSUBEB for the intervention, saying that, education is key to development.
The Village Head of Farar Kasa, Alhaji Habeeb Suleiman expressed happiness with the school project, saying, “Our children lacked access to school, especially during the rainy season, because the closest school to this community is in far away Kusallo.”
The highlight of the occasion was the symbolic distribution of uniforms and other school materials to the over 1,000 school children.
