The European Union, in partnership with UNICEF, has launched training for education stakeholders in Kano state of Nigeria, focusing on school safety, psycho-social support, and climate literacy.
Aisha Abdullahi, the education facilitator for Education and Youth Empowerment (EYE), announced at the opening ceremony on Wednesday that the four-year program, running from October 2023 to August 2027, will cover states of Kano, Jigawa, and Sokoto.
She highlighted that Kano was selected as a major beneficiary of the EU-funded education and empowerment initiative in Nigeria.
Abdullahi explained that the project aims to increase access to safe, inclusive, and relevant learning and skill development opportunities for both girls and boys.
“We began with training of trainers (ToT), who are the master trainers responsible for cascading the training to 800 teachers in schools across 10 local government areas,” she said.
She added that the training will equip stakeholders to mitigate conflict and disaster risks by enhancing their knowledge of early warning signs and appropriate responses.
The 40 participants were drawn from local government areas, the Ministry of Education, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Quranic and Islamic schools, and tertiary institutions.
Umar Doguwa, Kano’s education commissioner, praised UNICEF’s intervention through the EU-EYE project, noting that it will improve access to quality education, especially for children in underserved areas. He also highlighted the program’s impact on addressing challenges such as infrastructure, teacher training, and gender disparities in education.