The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has taken a bold step to boost secondary education in the North Eastern part of Nigeria.
The international organization, in a bid to support enrollment drive in the North East schools, said it has inaugurated radio clubs in the schools.
The School Radio Club programme is targeting no fewer than one million children to support enrollment drive campaigns for the development of education in the region.
Mrs Elizabeth Onitolo, who is in charge of Communication for Development, UNICEF, last friday, narrated the target of the organisation at the official inauguration of the programme in Adamawa State, which was in collaboration with the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in Yola, the state capital.
Acoording to Elizabeth, the programme is designed for behavioural and social change and it will be implemented in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
Elizabeth said, “Specifically, it is aimed at educating communities including 250,000 youths and children through radio communication.
“It is absolutely developmental support and as enrollment drive campaigns to reach over one million children”.
Mr Joel Jutum, An Education Specialist with UNICEF in Adamawa, analysed number of available schools and those already captured by the programme.
He said that the radios had already been distributed to benefiting schools being supervised by cordinators.
Jutum listed poor radio signal, network problem and insecurity as factors affecting the programme.
He recommended distributions of radio with external drives and having more than one radio club in the schools, that it would make the radio clubs to function well and aid the rapid development of education in the benefiting schools which is the target of UNICEF.
The Adamawa State Commisioner for Education and Capital Development, Mrs Wilbina Jackson, who was represented by Mr Tanko Musa, the Director, Basic Education, saluted and appreciated the effort of UNICEF in contributing positively to the development of education in the state and Nigeria.
He concluded, “I am sure the radio clubs would definitely improve school enrollment, especially girl child education in Adamawa State and implored the cordinators to ensure timely report of any challenge to the right channel for prompt response.”
