The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has restated its commitment to partner the Jigawa government to reinvigorate the basic education sector.

Micheal Banda, education manager, UNICEF Kano Field Office, said this at a three-day Local Education Sector Operations Plan (LESOP) Review and Development Workshop, on Friday in Dutse.

UNICEF and the European Union (EU) are supporting the Jigawa government to review and draft the state’s education strategic operational plan, through the Education and Youth Empowerment (EYE) programme.

Mr Banda described the exercise as an important step towards strengthening the education sector planning and implementation framework in the state.

According to Mr Banda, by reviewing and updating the LESOP, Jigawa is demonstrating a commitment to evidence-based decision making, accountability, and community participation, which are vital ingredients for transforming education at the local level.

He said many children in the state faced significant barriers in accessing quality educatiion, and out-of-school due to poverty, child labour, early marriage or distance to the nearest school in spite of progress made in the sector. 

The UNICEF official highlighted that LESOP process provided a unique opportunity to identify these barriers in each local government area, design local solutions to respond to specific realities of each community.

Mr Banda also identified inadequate financing as a challenge toward achieving the education goals, and stressed the need for ensuring transparency in utilising allocated funds to achieve better teaching and learning outcomes. 

He said the organisation was encouraging state governments to explore innovative financing options, strengthen budget execution to ensure that education resources reach schools on time. 

“LESOP will help local education authorities plan and implement realistic, cost effective activities that are aligned with the State Education Sector Plan and Medium-Term Expenditure Framework.

“LESOP should be more than a document but a living guide that drives local action, accountability and innovation in every LGA and for every learner,” he said.

Haruna Musa, chairman, Jigawa State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), lauded the UNICEF and EU over viable education interventions in the state.

He said the document would guide the state towards improving the education sector, adding that, “planning is important but implementation is also important. As education managers, we will do our best to deploy the document as a guide.

“Our main focus is on addressing the challenges in the system in terms of learning outcomes and the issue of out-of-school children.

“The document will guide us in providing best strategies to address the challenges.” 

(NAN)