BHC commends primary education in Borno

By Olatunji Omirin, Maiduguri
 
The British High Commissioner has commended the pace of learning among children in primary schools across Borno state.
 
The education adviser of the British High Commission, James Donoghue, made the remark on Tuesday during an assessment visit to primary schools in Maiduguri to evaluate the success of Teaching at the Right Level, an initiative designed by the United Nations Children’s Fund to ensure children are committed to their academics.
 
While commending the state government for infrastructural provisions, he said he was glad to see the children happily learning and committed to their studies.
 
“I am seeing children happily learning and steadily making progress. I think the next step is to make sure that these children can take the skills into the real world so that they can internalize basic arithmetic and use it when they go out of the school gate.
 
He further stated that the Commission is working with the Borno state government, relevant stakeholders, and partners to ensure that the program continues.
 
“We are working with the Borno state government, relevant organizations, partners, and the government of Yobe, because they are also included in the initiative, and that is a core element of how we operate so that the initiative can continue after UK-FCDO support ends.”
 
He also noted that the Commission, alongside its partners, is executing projects that capture out-of-school children in order to ensure that the illiteracy gap in the state is bridged.
 
“We have a program that we are delivering with our colleagues in UNICEF. It is an initiative on a basic education program, and that program is specifically for children who are out of school to come into school in the afternoon when the formal school is closed, and with volunteered teachers in the afternoon session so that they can catch up with the primary basic education program covering essential skills and basic literacy.”
 
On his part, UNICEF Education Manager Munamuzunga Sikaulu said Teaching at the Right Level is an initiative that aims to support the state government to deliver quality education.
 
“The idea is to help learners in P4 to P6 to improve on their learning in reading, writing, and numeracy. As you can see, the children are seated in groups so that their teachers can support them in an interactive and playful manner, either in numerals or literacy, so that they are able to get the skills that they need,” he said.
 
While commending the teachers in 20 schools where the Teaching at the Right Level Programme is taking place, he said they are delivering the initiative according to the trainings that they have received. 
 
“What I have seen is exciting; the teachers are delivering according to the programs according to the trainings they received, and the children are also interactive and engaged, which is very good,” he noted.