Over 9.7 million children in Nigeria are at risk of never returning to school, as a result of insecurity and other factors, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has disclosed.
The global body said before COVID-19, about 10.5 million Nigerian children, aged between five and 14, were not in school. Consequently, UNICEF, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education and other partners, has concluded plan to launch Nigeria Learning Passport, an online, mobile, and soon-to-be offline platform that enables continuous access to quality education, targeting 12 million learners in the country.
In a statement yesterday in Abuja, UNICEF Communication Officer in charge of Communications, Advocacy and Partnerships, Anike Alli-Hakeem, explained that learners registered on the platform will be able to study whether connected to the Internet or not, adding that this “will provide access to continuous learning, including in locations where insecurity hinders learners’ access to schools.”
According to him, the content is offered in English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, while children, youths and teachers could access a digitalised curriculum providing instructional and supplementary learning materials in all core curricular subjects for primary one to six, as well as Junior and Senior Secondary School classes.
