USAID donates textbooks to teachers, pupils in Sokoto
NAN-H-148
Distribution
By Isaac Aregbesola
Abuja, Jan. 26, 2017 (NAN) The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has donated 300,000 textbooks to help improve the reading skills of children in nearly 900 schools in Sokoto State.
USAID Mission Director, Michael Harvey, made this known in a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.
Harvey in conjunction with Dr Mohammed Kilgori, Commissioner of Education Sokoto State, presented the books to pupils at Buhari Model Primary school in Tambuwal Local Government Area of the state.
“Every child deserves quality basic education, U.S. is proud to partner with the Government of Sokoto to invest in the future of children who will grow to make a positive contribution in their communities,” Harvey said.
The books, according to him, were developed by more than 100 local and international experts and contain stories and pictures that promote positive social values.
“They are written in Hausa for levels Primary one and two and transition to English at Primary three.
“USAID is creating more opportunities for out-of-school-children in Nigeria to access education and boost the literacy level of more than two million children and youth through its Northern Education Initiative Plus project.
“The five-year initiative seeks to reach 1.6 million children in grades Primary one to three, along with more than 500,000 out-of-school-children and youth attending some 11,000 community learning centres,” he said.
According to him, the programme will train and equip around 45,000 teachers and learning facilitators, who can reach children in schools and non-formal learning centres.
The commissioner for Education in Sokoto State, Dr Jabbi Kilgori, who received the books in Abuja, remarked that the distribution supported a Memorandum of Understanding between USAID and Sokoto state, signed in 2016.
“Through this agreement Sokoto committed to increasing budget allocations to improve basic education.
“USAID will provide technical assistance and support to help Sokoto reach its goal of improved education for children and more effective and efficient management of the entire education system.
“We remain committed to investing in the future of our children through education, and the U.S government is a worthy partner in this vision,” Kilgori said. (NAN)
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Edited by Felix Ajide