The government of President Muhammadu Buhari has announced a goal to educate at least two million non-literate Nigerians per year.
The federal government’s plan was unveiled on Tuesday in Owerri, Imo State, during the launch of a nationwide Rural Facilitators’ Scheme (RFS). InsightnaijaTV has the story.
Professor Simon Labour Akpama, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC), who announced the proposal, said it will help the illiterate to improve their status and contribute to national progress.
The initiative’s introduction, according to Akpama, is in line with the federal government’s emphasis on the importance of literacy in national development.
The flag-off, which took place concurrently in three locations: Owerri, Imo State; Ibadan, Oyo State; and Kano, Kano State, was geared at tackling the multiplicity of difficulties plaguing the Adult and Non-Formal Education sub-sector, according to him.
He explained that, due to present constraints such as a lack of infrastructure and funding, the immediate goal is to literate a little more than 11,000 learners in the next seven months.
He mentioned insufficient and irregular payment of facilitator’s allowances by many states, as well as identifying and closing capacity gaps in the number of facilitators required to meet the vast number of non-literate people and youths as some of the obstacles.
Prof. Akpama bemoaned the literacy disparity between Nigeria and other countries. He noted some of the country’s present security challenges.
Insurgency and unrest, he claims, have contributed to the rapid increase in the number of out-of-school boys and girls.
He described the situation as concerning and a major hindrance to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 4, which calls for “ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
Prof. Akpama stated that the Commission’s desire to exhibit best practices and encourage states and local governments to live up to their legislative responsibilities in providing Mass literacy to all types of underserved learners is symbolized by the Rural Facilitator’s Scheme.
He said, “The overall fundamental aim is to improve the lives of adults and adolescents who have never been to school and cannot read or write and for whom basic literacy and numeracy skills can open a gate to lifelong learning; adults and adolescents who are above school-going age but have not achieved reading, writing and numeracy competencies; young adults who left school before acquiring basic education due to factors such as conflict, pregnancy, ill-health or death of parent and of course, early school leavers who could not stay on to achieve permanent literacy for effective relevant skills and knowledge that will enable them to make appropriate decisions about their lives”.
Prof. Akpama urged the facilitators to give it their all because, in his opinion, the large number of illiterate adults is exacerbated by the similarly high number of out-of-school children caused by a variety of circumstances.
“The statistics and figures about Country compared to the world at large is a wide berth considering the situation in the country coupled with the problems of insurgency and unrest, which has brought about a rapid increase in the number of out-of-school boys and girls”, he said.
The Executive Secretary said, “we have a daunting task ahead and as a result, we need a knowledgeable set of trained facilitators and vibrant stakeholders to be able to carry out this onerous task.”
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