Education Above All and partners unite to support 100,000 out-of-school Nigerian children
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh: 100,000 out-of-school children (OOSC), including girls and children with disabilities, are expected to benefit from a groundbreaking partnership between the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), and Save the Children in addition to other partners like the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and the Kaduna State Ministry of Education. A multi-tiered strategy will be used by the Reaching Out-of-School Children in Kaduna State project (ROOSC) to address significant educational challenges in the area.
Nigeria faces a number of difficulties, including inequality, instability, insecurity, and economic difficulties. low access, low financing, subpar facilities, and a shortage of qualified teachers are some of the obstacles to education. Kaduna is one of the states in Nigeria with the highest percentage of out-of-school children (OOSC), with a projected 535,353 children in the state not attending school in 2020, according to data from the Kaduna State Bureau of Statistics.The ROOSC project provides evidence of the partners’ dedication to funding education in order to lower poverty and promote wider socioeconomic development, in addition to raising enrollment and retention rates.
The partnership’s four-year timeline will be centered around four key goals: enhancing learning environments, education management, teaching and learning quality, and access and retention. The project will be divided into five parts in order to achieve these goals. It will also receive funding from the Qatar Fund for Development. These components will be used to deliver interventions that will guarantee inclusion, community mobilization, teacher preparation, quality control, flexible learning opportunities, psychosocial support, child protection, and the provision of educational materials.
Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank Group Dr. Mohammed Sulaiman Al-Jasser, and Fahad Al Sulaiti, CEO at Education Above All Foundation
“Strong partnerships that deliver relevant and effective interventions are the pillars that will build the pathway to educational transformation in Nigeria,” stated Fahad Al Sulaiti, CEO of Education Above All Foundation, in reference to the relationship. Together, we can ensure that all children have equal access to comprehensive and equitable education, enabling them to grow and prosper toward a brighter future.”
“ISFD is proud to be part of this international partnership addressing the education needs of out-of-school children in Kaduna State, Nigeria,” said Dr. Hiba Ahmed, Director General of ISFD. The goal of ISFD, which is to empower and develop underserved areas through high-quality education, is well aligned with this effort. We can provide kids the skills and information they need to realize their full potential and have a positive impact on their communities by collaborating with our partners.
“We are honored to work with all the partners involved to ensure that children can fulfil their right to a safe, inclusive, and quality education even in the most difficult circumstances,” Save the Children CEO Inger Ashing stated. Children repeatedly emphasize to us the value of education for both their current and future well-being and development. Because of the global problem affecting school access and learning, joining forces for this program offers the children of Nigeria a vital opportunity.
The ISFD/EAA Enroll and Retain OOSC Program was established in 2018 thanks to a framework agreement between EAA and IsDB/ISFD. This program offers a significant investment for the identification, enrollment, and retention of OOSC in a number of nations. In order to guarantee better impact for OOSC, the partners extended the framework agreement until 2025 during the IsDB Annual Meetings in Riyadh on April 27–30, 2024. One result of this program is the ROOSC project in the state of Kaduna.