A total of 343,942 schoolchildren in Adamawa State are beneficiaries of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) educational materials for quality teaching and learning.
The materials include school bags, higher note books, big note exercise books, recreational kits, early childhood development (ECD) Kits, as well as assorted pens, erasers, rulers, and sharpeners.
There are also a number of packages called school-in-a-box, each of which contains teaching and learning resources for 40 pupils, aimed at providing a functional alternative for communities without formal school setting.
The UNICEF Chief of Bauchi Field Office, Dr Tusha Rane said at the distribution flag-off in Yola that the materials were provided to advance UNICEF’s collective mission of reducing the number of out-of-school children.
Tusha Rane who spoke through UNICEF Education Consultant, Joel Jutum, said UNICEF is motivated by the optimism that when children have the necessary tools for learning, they are more likely to stay in school.
He added that UNICEF, in partnership with other organisations which include Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW), Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Education Cannot Wait (ECW), and the Adamawa State Government, has constructed and renovated classrooms, and installed perimeter fences, toilets, and instructional facilities across 125 schools in the state from 2021 to date.
He urged the state government to continue strengthening collaboration to ensure that more children enroll in schools.
In his remark, the Executive Chairman, Adamawa State Universal Basic Education Board (ADSUBEB), Dr Murtala Umar Babayi, said the state government was deeply grateful to UNICEF for its steadfastness in helping children with the materials that they require for quality education.
He said the government on its part is committed to ensuring that every Adamawa child receives quality education.