By Golfa Francis, Yola
Adamawa State has recorded remarkable progress in reducing the number of out-of-school children through the Global Partnership for Education (GPE)-funded programme, implemented by UNICEF, in collaboration with the state government.
The initiative, which recently wound up, targeted 7,000 children but ultimately reached more than 12,000 learners across Lamurde and Gombi Local Government Areas of the State.
The project addressed a critical gap in access to education, particularly for children who were previously excluded from formal learning.
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It established 60 community learning centres in Lamurde and another 60 in Gombi, in addition to 123 shade structures constructed to support schooling in underserved communities.
Beyond literacy and numeracy, children also gained skills in hygiene, social behaviour, and positive adaptation.
Abdulraman Ado, UNICEF Education Specialist in Bauchi, described the intervention as transformative, while Adamawa’s Commissioner of Education, Umar Garba Pella, said the programme had laid a strong foundation for the state’s education sector plan.
He noted that Adamawa had already designed a template to sustain the gains at the state level.
Community-based facilitators, drawn from the host communities, were trained to teach at least three times a week, a move stakeholders say will help ensure continuity.
Learners from non-formal centres are also being integrated into the formal school system with provisions of uniforms, materials, and other scholastic support.
Despite the success, the programme faced challenges.
Poverty continues to push some parents to send children hawking or to farm, instead of attending classes, while security issues in Madagali, communal clashes in Lamurde, and flooding that destroyed some learning structures remain serious setbacks.
Stakeholders, including Islamic school operators, further called for the introduction of a school feeding programme to ease the burden on children who often combine education with the struggle to find food.
Local leaders, traditional rulers, and parents have been urged to sustain community ownership of the initiative.
“Even if UNICEF withdraws, learning will not stop because it is now part of the community,” Abdulraman Ado said.
He added that what remains is to ensure the journey continues.
Lateefah Ibrahim