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Education for Out of School Children in Nigeria

Education for Out of School Children in Nigeria is an ‘Intervention Project’ that focuses on providing free quality education and skills acquisition training through scholarships and financial aid to the out of school children in Nigeria. The project’s aim is to provide free quality education and skills acquisition training to the displaced children who have lost their parents for reason of death or separation as a result of Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast, Fulani Herdsmen–famers clash in the Middle-Belt and other communal, tribal and ethno-religious crises in other parts of Nigeria. The project is coordinated by Attamah Foundation; a registered charity with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

The Problem

Nigeria is a heterogeneous society with different religions, ethnicity and tribes. In the recent times, religious intolerance, tribal and ethnic differences and social injustice as a result of bad governance have caused conflicts such as: Boko Haram insurgency, Fulani herdsmen-farmers clash and other inter-tribal and ethno-religious crises in different parts of the country, especially in the Northeast and the Middle-Belt. These crises have led to so many children being displaced by reason of the death of their parents and loss of contacts, and as a result, they have lost access to education. Some of these children have turned to street beggars, while some have gone into hawking with a view to getting means of livelihood, and all these make them more vulnerable as so many of them experience abuse of different types and degrees from some wicked persons. About four years ago, the United Nations Education and Children Fund (UNICEF) revealed that over 10 million Nigerian children are out of school; which is the world’s highest number. “In north-eastern Nigeria, conflicts have deprived many children of access to education. Teachers have been killed and schools burned down or closed for security reasons.”

The Solution  

The idea of ‘Education for Out of School Children in Nigeria’ is to give free quality education and skills acquisition training to some of these children that have been displaced and affected by these crises, who without this kind of initiative may not have access to education. The project will focus on children in Primary and secondary schools for now

The special skills we shall teach them include; carpentry, furniture making, blocks and bricks production, fish farming, poultry production, animal fattening, tilling and interlocking, soap making, bids making, automobile mechanic, computer maintenance, phone repair, electrical maintenance, etc. The skills acquisition training will hold during weekends. Upon their graduation from secondary schools, our plan is to sponsor their tertiary education. We will partner with some reputable private and government schools in order to get this done, so as to ensure that they are taught in line with the government approved curriculum for education in Nigeria.

Our Vision

Our vision is to transform some of the displaced children in Nigeria with academic knowledge alongside skills acquisition training for self-reliance so they may become agents of change in the society.

Our Mission

Our mission is to give free quality education alongside skills acquisition training to some of the displaced children in different parts of Nigeria.  

Objectives of the Project

The main objectives of the project are:

1. To contribute to reducing the rate of out of school children in Nigeria.

2. To contribute to realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly goals 4 and 5 that aim at ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all, and achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.

3. To equip the displaced children with academic knowledge alongside special skills that will bring out the potentials in them and make them self-reliant; thereby transforming them into agents of change in the society.

Project Implementation Plan

Though our plan is to cover the entire insurgency and other crises affected states in Nigeria, especially the Northeast and the Middle-Belt, for the fact that this is a new project, we will commence operations in Adamawa state for now, pending when we have got sufficient funds to extend operations to other affected states. Adamawa is one of the three states that were most affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast, and recently it faced series of conflicts between Fulani herdsmen and farmers, and these have left many persons displaced, including children that have lost their parents and as a result, do not have access to education.

Key Activities of the Project

The key activities of the project include:

1. Educating pupils and students through teaching and learning processes in line with the government approved academic curriculum for primary and secondary education in Nigeria.

2. Training pupils and students on acquiring skills in the areas of; carpentry, furniture making, blocks and bricks production, fish farming, poultry production, animal fattening, tilling and interlocking, soap making, bids making, automobile mechanic, computer maintenance, phone repair, electrical maintenance, etc. The skills acquisition training will hold during weekends.

Method of Selecting Pupils and Students for the Scholarships

The pupils and students that will benefit from this project must be the displaced children. Any child that does not fall within the stipulated category is not eligible for the scholarships and as such is not eligible for sponsorship by the organization, Attamah Foundation.

At the beginning of every academic year, we shall award scholarships to displaced children of an equal number from the two major religious bodies in Nigeria – Christianity and Islam. Also, the number of children to be awarded the scholarship in each academic year shall be gender balanced. This is to ensure gender equality.

Accountability

In order to convince our donors that their funds are being used for the purposes they are being donated, transparency and accountability shall be the core part of our operational policies and with these, we shall make judicious use of any grant and/or donations we may receive from funding organizations and philanthropists. We will publicly give a detailed account of our projects and expenditures at the end of every year.

Impact / Expected Outcome of the Project

The impact and expected outcome of the project includes:

1.      Reduction of the rate of out of school children in Nigeria.

2.      Transforming the displaced children with quality education and special skills for societal change.  

The project will be a continuous one and we intend to sponsor the displaced children from primary to tertiary education. We believe that with donations and grants we may receive from organizations and philanthropists, our goals are achievable.

Project Impact / Success Assessment

In order to assess the impact and success of the project, we will engage the service of a local research company that will use the ‘Outcome Evaluation Model’ to ascertain the project’s impact at the end of every year. With the Outcome Evaluation Model, techniques like observations, interviews and questionnaires will be used to assess and determine the success result of the project.

References

Quality Basic Education (The Situation)

https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/education.html

Nigeria: Rising Toll of Middle-Belt Violence

https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/06/28/nigeria-rising-toll-middle-belt-violence