FG begins education advocacy for displaced children in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe

The Federal Government yesterday said it would commence an education advocacy programme for displaced school age children in the northeast states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Internally Displaced Persons, Mariam Masha,‎ said the programme would adopt the children themselves as main advocates countering every form of violence through writing and speech competitions.

She said the competition was open to children from eight to 18 years currently receiving various forms of education in camps for the displaced in the affected states.

This model will engage the children in conversations concerning their educational plans, intending to create a sense of involvement and enhancing the success and sustainability of their education.

The programme, tagged: ‘2016 Protecting Education Advocacy Challenge (PEACH)’ will be conducted in three stages. They are: self-expression through creative writing; focused mentorship; and the development of an advocacy campaign, which will be presented by the children before a live audience.

Masha said: “Education remains one of the pivotal tools in addressing ignorance and it is a soft, yet effective approach to counter-terrorism initiatives.”

The programme, according to her, was jointly hosted by the Office of the National Security Adviser, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).