By: Mayen Etim
KADUNA, North-West, Nigeria – A group under the auspice of Civil Society Action Coalition On Education For All, (CSACEFA), has said that every child is entitled to quality education in Nigeria.
State Coordinator of the group, Theresa Biniyat, stated this when the group paid advocacy visit to the Chaimain, Committee on Education in the State House of Assembly, (KDSHA), on Tuesday, October 22, 2019.
Addressing the Committee, she said the visit became necessary as a government institution saddled with overseeing the executive arm of government and formulation of policies including the educational policy, to enable it gain valuable knowledge and also share it findings from recent field engagement during the Global Partnership for Education, (GPE).
According to her, over the years, the group has worked tirelessly to ensure that the goal of education for all becomes a reality.
Biniyat disclosed that in June 2019, CSACEFA embarked on a project to monitor/verify the disbursement of the World Bank/Global Partnership for Education, (GPE), fund to support the Nigeria Partnership for Education Project, (NIPEP) school improvement grant, female teachers’ scholarship as well as girl-child scholarship in 5 GPE intervention states in Northern Nigeria of Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Sokoto states.
The state coordinator further disclosed some ongoing activities of the group in the state to include; monitoring of Better Education Service Delivery for All, (BESDA), a project geared towards enrollment campaign for out-of- school children in Nigeria championed by UBEB across 17 States of the Federation.
She said that BESDA was led by SUBEB in the state, while CSACEFA served as a third-party independent monitor for the verification and validation of the disbursement of 2015/2016 and 2016/2017, GPE and Nigeria Partnership for Education Projects grants in all LGEA/UBE and Islamiyya schools that benefited from the grant.
Biniyat added that the group is also engaged in monitoring of School Based Management Committees, (SBMC) to track the effectiveness of their activities in the state.
“Some of our initiatives aimed at addressing girl-child issues in education include: strengthening girl education in Northern Nigeria;
“Strengthening public system and the capacity to ensure that education is qualitative and equitable,” she said.
Responding, Chairman, House Committee on Education, Honorable Yusuf Liman, expressed his pleasure with activities of CSACEFA in the State, saying it was key to the growth of the society, and urged other NGOs to follow suit.
Liman assured the group after it second meeting to see how the government can partner with the coalition.
CSACEFA is a coalition of Civil Society Organizations, (CSOs), working on education issues in Nigeria. It has been engaging, advocating and inputting to education policies and programmes at local, national and international levels.