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From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
The Chief of Operations, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Mr Opiyo Nixon, has said that the ongoing international polo tournament in Kaduna was designed to raise funds to increase access to education by poor and vulnerable children in Kaduna State.
The initiative which began in 2006, is in line with UNICEF’s mandate of advocating for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.
The partnership, which targets children and families in greatest need, has been providing support to accelerate access to quality education by disadvantaged children, especially Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in dire need of education in selected communities of Kaduna State.
Under the partnership two schools – LEA Maraban Jos, in Igabi Local Government Area (LGA) and LEA Kakau, in Chikun LGA were adopted and rebuilt, to sustain the provision of quality education to orphans and vulnerable children.
The schools’ infrastructures were upgraded including the provision of toilets, water, and other WASH facilities in collaboration with the Kaduna State Ministry of Education (MoE) and Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
The UNICEF Man who spoke to newsmen at the opening of this year’s Access Bank UNICEF Charity Shield International Polo Tournament held at Fifth Chukker, Mararaba Jos, Igabi local government area of the State added that the effort was to provide rural children with quality education in line with the Sustainable Development Goal four.
According to him, education is quite important for every child. It is common knowledge that access to education contributes to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals number four.
“We are here to join hands with other partners at Fifth Chucker with Access Bank and other participants to contribute the sources that will go into increasing access to education and quality of teaching.
“More importantly to ensure that each child has the opportunity to access education and achieve better development stages within their life.
“The fund generated through this charity tournament would be plowed back into the model school because there are more works to be done.
“For example, there is a need for additional teachers in terms of pupil-teacher ratio in the classroom. We still need to improve the library and computer laboratory, and of course, the management of the school is looking towards expanding in terms of additional classrooms because there is a high demand for pupils who want to access education in this facility.
“I want to take this opportunity to encourage other partners to come together, put the sources together and ensure that every child in this community has access to educational facilities that will provide quality education,” he said.
