The Katsina government and UNICEF have begun stakeholder engagement to revive 450 Community Learning Hubs in nine frontline council areas severely affected by banditry and insecurity.

UNICEF focal person at the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Maijiadda Kai-Kai, disclosed this on Tuesday in Katsina.

The frontline LGAs are Jibia, Batsari, Safana, Danmusa, Dandume, Sabuwa, Faskari, Kankara, and Bakori.

She said the initiative aims to provide learning opportunities for children affected by insecurity, displacement, and other barriers to accessing formal education.

Ms Kai-Kai said stakeholders’ sensitisation was being conducted simultaneously across the nine affected LGAs to mobilise communities and assess the condition of the established learning hubs.

She said the exercise also aimed to determine whether the hubs remained functional and ensure that the solar-powered radio sets earlier distributed to learners were still available.

The UNICEF focal person said that missing radio sets identified during the exercise would be replaced to ensure that vulnerable children continued to benefit from the programme.

Ms Kai-Kai said at least 50 Community Learning Hubs had earlier been established in each of the nine frontline LGAs. She said the hubs were designed to give vulnerable and out-of-school children access to broadcast radio learning programmes and other remote educational resources.

In June 2024, 2,960 solar-powered radio devices were supplied to Katsina, but 1,000 were distributed to provide alternative learning opportunities for displaced children.

According to her, the hubs also provide safe spaces for learning, support literacy and numeracy programmes, encourage community participation in education and offer additional support to learners affected by conflict and displacement.

Under the radio learning component, she explained that structured lessons are broadcast to learners who can listen individually at home or gather at the community hubs.

Ms Kai-Kai noted that the approach is expected to enable children affected by insecurity, displacement, distance and other barriers to continue learning without relying entirely on physical attendance in conventional schools.

During the sensitisation exercise across selected LGAs, stakeholders assured the necessary support for the initiative’s success in their respective communities.

(NAN)